BACKGROUND In the present state of knowledge regarding the etiology of dental caries, it is unacceptable for studies addressing factors associated with this outcome to disregard oral hygiene. Simple, valid methods are needed for the assessment of oral hygiene in adolescents to allow this condition to be properly investigated in epidemiological studies on caries and assist in the establishment o...

Toothbrushing is the most widely recommended and practiced method of dental home care. While there is considerable information available in the literature on the time spent brushing the teeth, there is minimal information relating actual brushing time with the time patients estimate they normally brush. This paper reports in detail a study conducted in Switzerland in the 1980's, and supplements...

There have been dramatic developments in the theory and therapy of periodontal disease in the last few decades. This paper focuses on the role of toothbrushing in the treatment and prevention of periodontal disease, based on the author's personal experience gained from both clinical and experimental observations for more than 30 years. Even in the recent past, periodontal disease was considered...

Dental plaque removal is an important issue in health promotion. Toothbrushing is one of the main methods employed for such purpose, since it can prevent dental caries by means of the fluoride present in the dentifrice. Dentifrices might contain plaque disclosing agents and thus allow dental plaque observation. The aim of this study was to assess whether utilization of a plaque disclosing agent...

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated in vitro the efficiency of Aloe vera and propolis dentifrice on reducing the contamination of toothbrush bristles by a standard strain of Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 25175; SM), after toothbrushing. MATERIAL AND METHODS Fifteen sterile toothbrushes were randomly divided into 5 toothbrushing groups: I (negative control): without dentifrice; II: with fluoridated d...

BACKGROUND The effect of the fluoride in the caries prevention is strongly linked to its topical action. When the fluoride is ingested, its anticaries effect is weak and, in addition, it can cause side effects such as dental fluorosis in children. The toothbrushing with fluoride dentifrice is a suitable procedure to provide the topical fluoride, but in small children there is risk of inadverten...

This study quantified alterations in root dentin permeability after exposure to different acid beverages. Twenty-five third molars were sectioned below the cementoenamel junction, the root segment was collected, and the pulp tissue was removed. The root segments were connected to a hydraulic pressure apparatus to measure the permeability of root dentin after the following sequential steps, with...

This study compared the efficacy of an antimicrobial mouthrinse (0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate) plus toothbrushing (mouthrinse group), mechanical interdental cleaning plus toothbrushing (mechanical group), and toothbrushing alone (control group), at reducing and preventing interdental gingival inflammation. 92 male subjects were examined for interdental inflammation using the Eastman interdenta...

BACKGROUND Nosocomial pneumonia has correlated to dental plaque and to oropharynx colonization in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. The interruption of this process, by preventing colonization of pathogenic bacteria, represents a potential procedure for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). METHODS The study design was a prospective, randomized trial to verify if o...

The purpose of this in vitro study was to quantify the alterations on human root dentin permeability after exposure to different acid fruit juices and to evaluate the effect of toothbrushing with electric or sonic toothbrush after acid exposure. The root dentin of 50 extracted third molars was exposed with a high speed bur. Crowns were sectioned above the cementoenamel junction and root fragmen...