Effect of embossed new dental pick on periodontitis

Suk, Hun Joo; Kim, Chong Kwan

Abstract

Since bacterial plaque is known as the major cause of every oral disease, it is necessary to control plaque to maintain periodontal health. Although tooth brushing has been the typical method of plaque control, additional use of plaque control devices are necessary for cleansing interdental areas. Dental floss has been used for a long time as the additional plaque control device and proved to be effective. The newly developed embossed new dental pick is composed of elastic plastic material in form with its tip longer than other toothpick. In addition, as thickness of the tip gradually increases, it can be adapted easily with minimal trauma to interdental gingiva. The embossed tip can remove dental plaque easily, and the opposite end can approach lingual and palatal areas through triple angulation. Therefore, the authors studied the effect of embossed new dental pick and dental floss on periodontally involved 15 patient. The following results were obtained. 1. For embossed new dental pick, probing depth at baseline, 1 week, 4 weeks were 3.6+/-0.6mm, 3.4+/-0.5mm, 3.2+/-0.5mm, respectively, and 4.2+/-0.9mm, 4.1+/-0.9mm, 4.0+/-0.9mm, respectivly for clinical attachment level. 2. In case of embossed new dental pick, bleeding on probing at baseline, 1 week, 4 weeks were 43.0+/-4.4%, 28.5+/-5.1%, 22.2+/-5.6%, respectively, and, at 1 week and 4 weeks, they were significantly different from that of dental floss. 3. Gingival index of toothpick at baseline, 1 week, 4 weeks were 1.7+/-0.5, 1.0+/-0.3, 0.9+/-0.2, respectively, and, 1.7+/-0.5, 1.1+/-0.4, 1.0+/-0.4, respectively for plaque index, and 3.0+/-0.5, 1.7+/-0.5, 1.4+/-0.4, respectively for proximal plaque index. proximal plaque index at 4 weeks was significantly different from that of dental floss. 4. The result of questionnaire showed that the two types of device were both satisfactory, however, embossed new dental pick had higher preference as well as satisfaction. As a result, embossed new dental pick is thought to be clinically effective for its simplicity and good accessibility.