Supragingival plaque removal with and without dentifrice: a randomized controlled clinical trial

the aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of dental plaque removal by brushing with and without conventional dentifrice. twenty-four students aged 17 to 28 years participated in this randomized controlled clinical trial. quadrants 1-3 or 2-4 were randomly allocated to the test group (brushing without dentifrice) or control group (brushing with dentifrice). after 72 h of cessation of oral hygiene, quigley & hein (turesky) plaque index was assessed before and after brushing by a calibrated and blind examiner. overtime and intergroup comparisons were performed by student's paired sample t-test at 5% significance level. the results showed that both groups after toothbrushing presented statistically significant reductions in plaque, with no differences between them (from 3.06 ± 0.54 to 1.27 ± 0.26 versus from 3.07 ± 0.52 to 1.31 ± 0.23). a separate analysis of the buccal and lingual aspects also showed no significant differences between groups. it may be concluded that the use of a conventional dentifrice during toothbrushing does not seem to enhance plaque removal capacity.