Effect of Frequency of Brushing Teeth on Plaque and Calculus Accumulation, and Gingivitis in Dogs

Abstract

The efficacy of brushing the teeth of beagle dogs in a randomized, controlled, blinded study design using a clearly-defined brushing technique was evaluated for 4 brushing frequencies: brushing daily, brushing every other day, brushing weekly and brushing every other week, compared with no brushing in a control group of dogs. All dogs were fed a standard dry kibble diet during the study. Standard plaque, calculus, and gingivitis indices were used to score the teeth. A 'clean tooth' model was used. No gingival or non-gingival lacerations or other signs of injury to oral tissues were found at the end of the 28 day trial period. Brushing more frequently had greater effectiveness in retarding accumulation of plaque and calculus, and reducing the severity of pre-existing gingivitis. Brushing daily or every other day produced statistically significant improved results compared with brushing weekly or every other week. Based on the results of this study, daily brushing is recommended.

Association of toothbrushing and proximal cleaning with periodontal health among Korean adults: Results from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in year 2010 and 2012

“…Although a previous study stated that oral hygiene practices such as TB and DF were not associated with periodontitis (Merchant et al., ), the recent review showed that infrequent TB was related to having severe periodontal disease (Zimmermann et al., ). Another recent study reported that the mean of dental plaque and calculus scores were reduced by TB (Harvey et al., ). Cochrane review recommended TB twice a day to prevent caries (Marinho, Higgins, Sheiham, & Logan, ), but the recent systematic review stated that the effect of frequency of toothbrushing to dental caries is unclear and the evidence of toothbrushing twice a day was not strong (Kumar, Tadakamadla, & Johnson, ).…”

“…Toothbrushing (TB) has been regarded as fundamental self-care behaviour activity for keeping good oral health. Frequent toothbrushing has been considered an effective factor for reduction in oral plaque (Harvey, Serfilippi, & Barnvos, 2015). The use of dental floss (DF) is a widely used self-care method for inter-dental cleaning (Sambunjak et al, 2011;Warren & Chater, 1996), and inter-dental brushing (IDB) is an effective method for the removal of inter-proximal plaque (Poklepovic et al, 2013;Salzer, Slot, Van der Weijden, & Dorfer, 2015).…”

Prospective randomised blinded clinical trial assessing effectiveness of three dental plaque control methods in dogs

“…Based on previous work by others that showed ≥⃒60% reduction in mean (±sd) plaque scores when comparing daily brushing with no brushing (3.1 [±0.80] versus 4.9 [±1.14]) or a daily dental chew to no brushing (7.74 [±0.65] versus 11.42 [±1.20]) (Brown & McGenity , Harvey et al . ), it was estimated that a minimum of six to eight dogs per treatment group would be required to be 95% confident of detecting a 25% reduction in plaque accumulation ( i.e . from a mean of 7.74 to 5.81 with sd of 1.0 to 1.2 for what we considered to be a clinically significant difference among the treatment groups with no negative control group) with 80 to 90% power (Statulator beta.…”

“…1). Based on previous work by others that showed ≥60% reduction in mean (±sd) plaque scores when comparing daily brushing with no brushing (3.1 [±0.80] versus 4.9 [±1.14]) or a daily dental chew to no brushing (7.74 [±0.65] versus 11.42 [±1.20]) (Brown & McGenity 2005, Harvey et al 2015, it was…”

“…Minimising plaque accumulation is the key means of preventing gingivitis and PD, and various methods of control have been marketed for the pet-owning public (Roudebush et al 2005). While tooth brushing has been long recognised as the gold standard control measure, there are well-recognised challenges associated with this method: notably, owner and patient compliance (Roudebush et al 2005, Harvey et al 2015, Watanabe et al 2016. As a result, other methods of plaque control such as dental hygiene chews or specifically formulated dental foods have been developed, with published evidence that they can reduce plaque accumulation.…”