BRUSHING has so fascinated us that we will continue to devote a bit more time on it.
In the summer of 2009, an article appeared in The Journal of Dental Hygiene.
The article, “The Effect of Brushing Time and Dentifrice on Dental Plaque Removal in vivo’’ was written by dentists Andrew Gallagher and Joseph Sowinski together with James Bowman, Kathy Barrett, Shirley Lowe, Kartik Patel, PhD, dentist Mary Lynn Bosma; and Jonathan Creeth, PhD.
At the time the article was written, Dr. Gallagher was the principle investigator at Hill Top Research in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Dr. Sowinski was professor and chairman of Erie Community College, Dental Hygiene Department in Williamsville, New York.
They wrote that routine tooth brushing is the principal method by which individuals remove plaque and control plaque-related issues such as gum diseases, tooth decay, and cavities.
“Routine tooth brushing is perhaps the single most important step an individual can take to reduce plaque accumulation and the consequent risk of plaque-associated diseases,’’ they wrote.
Plaque is that colorless and sticky film of bacteria on the surface of teeth. It comes from foods containing carbohydrates (sugars and starches). Bacteria feed on these foods and produces acid in the process.
In time, the acid destroys the tooth enamel leading to tooth decay. Plaque also develops under the gums and breaks down the bone that supports the tooth.
The study observed that the average American spends 45 seconds when the ideal is a minimum of two minutes.
The study was conducted to measure plaque removal over timed periods between 30 and 180 seconds using 1.5 grams of toothpaste.
Forty-seven subjects participated in the study in which the plaque level was assessed.
It showed that plaque removal increased with brushing time, “tending towards a maximum at longer brushing times.’’
At the extremes, brushing for 180 seconds removed 55 percent more plaque than brushing for 30 seconds. Brushing for 120 seconds removed 26 percent more plaque than brushing for 45 seconds.
Interestingly, the use of dentifrice or toothpaste did not increase plaque removal during 60 seconds of brushing.
The study concluded that “oral health care professionals should reinforce efforts to persuade patients to brush for longer periods of time, as increasing brushing time to the consensus minimum of two minutes from a more typical 45 seconds increases plaque removal to an extent likely to provide clinically significant oral health benefits.’’
At the time, there was no study on the effects of time spent brushing had on plaque removal in the general population.
What it showed is that brushing time is important to cleaning the teeth properly and with important oral health benefits. “Brushing time is the most easily controlled parameter of effective everyday brushing,’’ the researchers observed.
With that we rest our case – that is, devoting more time to brushing your teeth improves oral health care./PN
