Research on dental plaque removal methods for efficient oral prophylaxis: With a focus on air polishing and rubber cup polishing

Air-polishing followed by ultrasonic calculus removal for the treatment of gingivitis: A 12-month, split-mouth randomized controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the advantages of a novel protocol involving full-mouth erythritol-powder air-polishing followed by ultrasonic calculus removal in the maintenance of patients treated for gingivitis, with a focus on time and comfort.

METHODS

Systemically healthy patients with gingivitis were selected. Following a split-mouth design, quadrants 1-4 and 2-3 were randomly allocated to receive air-polishing followed by ultrasonic calculus removal following a protocol known as Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) or traditional full-mouth ultrasonic debridement followed by polishing with a rubber cup and prophylactic paste (US + P). Bleeding on probing (BoP) and the plaque index (PI) were collected at baseline (T0), 2 weeks (T1), 4 weeks (T2), 3 months (T3), and 6 months (T4) and 12 months (T5). Following the same randomization, prophylactic therapy was provided at 3 months (T3) and 6 months (T4). Clinical parameters, treatment time and patient comfort and satisfaction were evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 41 patients were selected, 39 completed the study. The clinical parameters were clinically satisfactory for both treatments at every time. At 4 months after treatment, GBT maintained significantly lower BoP and PI. GBT protocol required a significantly lower treatment time, especially at T3 and T4, when it saved 24.5% and 25.1% of the time, respectively. Both treatments were rated positively by most patients. However, GBT was perceived as more comfortable, and a higher number of patients preferred it.

CONCLUSION

No significant difference was observed between GBT and conventional ultrasonic debridement and rubber cup polishing in terms of BoP and PI levels. The GBT protocol allowed less time expenditure and higher patients' perceived comfort.

Methods for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Home Oral Hygiene Measures-A Narrative Review of Dental Biofilm Indices

Dental plaque is a biofilm structured in an extracellular matrix of polymers of host and microbial origin; the microorganisms can coexist in harmony with the host, thus guarantying oral health. Environmental modifications can lead to dysbiosis and onset of oral diseases; in fact, plaque is the etiological agent both of periodontal disease and dental decay. The use of an effective oral hygiene index should be considered as a relevant goal for the clinicians and the researchers, and consequently, numerous plaque indices have been proposed during the years. The present literature review aims primarily to obtain a complete summary of these scores to assess plaque deposits. It is useful because the clinician/researcher will select the right scoring method for the specific situation only if he knows the available options and if he is aware of both their strengths and weaknesses. This review applies a basic classification of plaque indices that distinguishes the ones that use non-quantitative methods from the ones that use quantitative methods. Non-quantitative methods are more subjective because they are based on the ability of the clinician to point out the presence or the entity of deposits, while quantitative methods introduce objectifiable means to measure plaque deposits.

Inhibitory effect of carboxylated nanodiamond on oral pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus mutans

BACKGROUND

Nanodiamonds (NDs) have been demonstrated to have bactericidal activity on several microorganisms and can be used in various kinds of dental materials. NDs are potential candidates for antibacterial dental materials. However, the possible inhibitory effect of NDs on oral pathogenic bacteria is largely unknown. This study was performed to investigate the inhibitory effects of carboxylated nanodiamond (cND) on Streptococcus mutans.

METHODS

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to confirm carboxyl groups on the surface of commercial cND. The inhibitory effect of serially diluted cND on S. mutans was evaluated by spectrophotometry and plating methods. Escherichia coli was treated as a positive control in spectrophotometry. Chlorhexidine was used as a positive control in plating methods. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to confirm the antibacterial activity of cND.

RESULTS

The results showed that cND exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on S. mutans. For S. mutans, the minimum inhibitory concentration was 4 μg/ml and the minimum bactericidal concentration was 16 μg/ml. SEM and TEM results indicated that cND functioned as an antibacterial agent, likely due to its ability to disrupt the cell membrane of S. mutans.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, these findings demonstrated an inhibitory effect of cND on S. mutans and suggest its use as a potential antibacterial dental material.