 |
| Title |
Interdental Brushes Are As Effective As Floss In Removing Interproximal Plaque |
| Clinical Question |
In patients 18 years and older, are interdental brushes as effective as traditional waxed floss in reducing interproximal plaque? |
| Clinical Bottom Line |
In patients 18 years and older, interdental brushes are as effective as traditional floss in reducing interproximal plaque. This is supported by a meta analysis of multiple studies and a randomized controlled trial in which interdental brushes performed equally well, and in some studies better, as compared to floss by a clinically significant margin. Use of an interdental brush is easier to use and less technique sensitive for most patients and will likely result in increased use in comparison to floss. |
| Best Evidence |
(you may view more info by clicking on the PubMed ID link) |
| PubMed ID |
Author / Year |
Patient Group |
Study type
(level of evidence) |
| #1) 19138177 | Slot/2008 | 510 adult patients from 9 included studies | Meta-Analysis | | Key results | “A significant effect was seen when comparing the interdental brush with the floss group when using the Silness and Loë plaque index [WMD: −0.48, 95% CI (−0.65, −0.32), P < 0.00001; test for heterogeneity P = 0.001, I2 = 85.4%].” | | #2) 16881811 | Jackson/2006 | 77 patients with chronic periodontitis | Randomized Controlled Trial | | Key results | The baseline mean plaque index (PI) for the brush group (1.12) was equivalent to the floss group (1.13). “The 6-week mean PI for the brush group (0.68) was significantly less than for the floss group (1.00) (P <0.001)...There was still significantly less interdental plaque in the brush group (.72) than for the floss group (.96) at 12 weeks (P <0.01).” | |
| Evidence Search |
("Dental Devices, Home Care") AND ("Dental Plaque/prevention and control") |
Comments on
The Evidence |
Validity: The first article is a systematic review including a meta analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials or controlled clinical trials. After searching the National Library of Medicine and the Cochrane central register, 234 articles were screened. Of those, only 9 were chosen based upon the studies’ validity and the requirements of review. The second article is a randomized controlled clinical trial in which 77 out of 87 patients completed the trial. The groups were randomly chosen and clinically similar at the start of the study. The trial was a single blind study in which the two groups were treated the same, had adequate followup, adequate compliance, and unlikely recall bias. |
| Applicability |
This would be applicable for most patients, and especially patients that have periodontal disease. It is also very applicable to patients who have musculoskeletal problems and would have difficulty flossing. |
| Specialty/Discipline |
(General Dentistry) (Periodontics) |
| Keywords |
Interdental brush, floss, plaque index
|
| ID# |
3041 |
| Date of submission: |
03/31/2016 |
| E-mail |
craigj3@livemail.uthscsa.edu |
| Author |
James Craig |
| Co-author(s) |
|
| Co-author(s) e-mail |
|
| Faculty mentor/Co-author |
Archie Jones, DDS, MBA |
| Faculty mentor/Co-author e-mail |
JonesA@uthscsa.edu |
Basic Science Rationale
(Mechanisms that may account for and/or explain the clinical question, i.e. is the answer to the clinical question consistent with basic biological, physical and/or behavioral science principles, laws and research?) |
post a rationale |
| None available | |
|
Comments and Evidence-Based Updates on the CAT
(FOR PRACTICING DENTISTS', FACULTY, RESIDENTS and/or STUDENTS COMMENTS ON PUBLISHED CATs) |
post a comment |
| None available | |
|
|
