In Vivo Study of Brushing Force Produced by Three Types of Toothbrush Filaments from Two Brands

Abstract

Manual tooth brushing is a tool used for maintaining daily oral health. The purpose of this in vivo study was to investigate tooth brushing force produced by three types of filament from two brands of manual toothbrush. The study enrolled 36 healthy volunteers. Tooth brushing force was measured using a force transducer and a physiological recording system.  All volunteers were instructed to brush using the modified Bass technique. Three filament types from Berman^® and Oral-B^® were assessed in this study. We found that the diameters of the filaments from Berman® medium, soft, and extra soft toothbrushes were 360.19±2.31, 277.04±2.16, and 142.89±18.42 µm, whereas those from Oral-B^® were 312.22±3.82, 270.33±3.76, and 195.18±13.65 µm, respectively. The brushing force with Berman^® medium toothbrush was significantly higher than that with the soft and extra soft toothbrushes, whereas the brushing force of Oral-B^® medium toothbrush was higher than that of the extra soft toothbrush. Although Oral-B^® soft toothbrush and Berman^® soft toothbrush had similar filament diameter, the former required more brushing force. It was concluded that toothbrush filament types (diameter) could affect brushing force and should be considered when selecting suitable toothbrush for each oral condition.