Comparison Of Two Interdental Cleaning Aids: A Randomized Clinical Trial

AimThe aim of this study was a comparison of the handling and acceptance of two kinds of interdental brushes (interdental brush with a handle [HB] and a newly invented interdental cleaning device [NB]).Methods and materialsIn a randomized crossover trial, 40 test subjects with an average number of 23.5 interdental areas were examined. At two appointments with a washout period of one week, the volunteers tried out both cleaning tools (HB and NB). They were asked to clean as many interdental spaces as possible. The percentage of spaces, which could be reached, is the IRI (Interdental Reachability Index). Furthermore, subjective impressions were determined.ResultsThe average IRI using HB was 64% compared to 80% using of NB (P<.001); 62.5% of the volunteers found the cleaning with HB painful and 15% the cleaning with NB. The subjective feeling after cleaning was 1.75 with NB compared to 2.2 with HB (P=.015), grading the feeling, from 1 for very good to 5 for poor. The acceptance of regular interdental hygiene was rated 1.95 in the case of the NB and 2.85 in the case of the HB. After both appointments, the test subjects declared that they would use the NB 3.05 times and the HB 1.78 times a week.ConclusionThis study shows that the test subjects reached more interdental spaces with NB than with the HB. NB can improve the usage of interdental brushes. Regarding subjective comfort, participants also favoured NB over HB.