Philips Sonicare FlexCare - Sonicare.com - Sonicare

Table 4—Change in number of bleeding sites after 2 and 4 weeks
Parameter
P value is from ANCOVA.
SD = standard deviation; ANCOVA = analysis of covariance.
N
Baseline
Sites
2 Weeks
Change in sites
4 Weeks
Change in sites
FlexCare 87 44.72 ± 12.35 -24.07 ± 9.15 -31.59 ± 9.33
Oral-B P40 88 41.85 ± 11.91 -21.80 ± 7.57 -27.89 ± 9.06
P value .324 .029
tions at each visit and review of subject-reported
adverse events demonstrated the safety of the tested
products with respect to hard and soft tissues.
Discussion
The results from this 4-week clinical trial
demonstrate a strong effect of the FlexCare on reducing
plaque-induced gingival inflammation. This
was reflected in a highly significant reduction of GI
scores after 2 and 4 weeks of use. The positive outcome
corroborates results obtained in similar studies
conducted with other sonic toothbrushes. 16-18 It was
further substantiated by significantly reduced PI
scores and a drop in the number of bleeding sites by
70.6% over the 4-week period. Reductions in GI and
PI scores were 28.4% and 43.9%, respectively, and
associated score reductions between baseline and
visit 3 were statistically significant. The results
achieved with FlexCare clearly exceeded the efficacy
thresholds of 15% for GI and statistical significance
for PI established by the American Dental Association
Acceptance Program 19 for power toothbrushes.
This study also demonstrates that FlexCare
offers statistically significantly greater plaque
removal ability than a manual toothbrush. The
observed treatment effect of 3.9% probably underestimated
the true advantage that could be expected
from using the FlexCare in a nontrial situation. For
instance, all manual toothbrush users reported
excellent compliance with instructions for brushing
Figure 2—Number of gingival sites with GI score ≥2.0 at baseline (bleeding sites) by treatment group
45
40
FlexCare
MTB
35
30
Number
of bleeding
sites
25
20
P = .324
P = .029
15
10
5
0
Baseline Week 2 Week 4
Weeks of product use
P values were calculated from ANCOVA adjusted for baseline differences.
GI = gingival index; MTB = manual toothbrush; ANCOVA = analysis of covariance.
Vol. 28, No. 9 (Suppl 1) Compendium / September 2007
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