Efficacy of dental floss with ellipsoidal knots vs conventional dental floss for plaque removal: A split‐mouth randomized trial

Abstract

Objectives To compare clinical efficacy for plaque removal between dental floss with soft ellipsoidal knots and conventional floss. Materials and Methods We studied 33 university students (29 females and 4 males, 13 of them undergraduate/postgraduate students of dentistry), including regular and sporadic (less once/wk) users of dental floss, with interproximal spaces ≤1 mm, who used floss with and without knots in a randomized manner following a split‐mouth design. The Modified Navy Plaque Index (RMNPI) by Rustogi et al. was applied to determine the total removed plaque (TPI) and that removed in the gingival area (GPI) and interproximal spaces (IPI). Results The reduction in GPI was greater with the knotted vs conventional floss in all cases (14.77 ± 12.38; 64.79% vs 17.38 ± 13.66; 57.51%) and especially among no floss users (12.469 ± 10.98; 68.02% vs 15.833 ± 11.88; 58.55%). No statistically significant difference between floss types was found in TPI and IPI (globally or by floss utilization frequency) or in the mean GPI of floss users. Conclusion Floss with ellipsoidal knots showed similar efficacy to remove plaque in patients with less experience of flossing (but without statistically significant differences) compared with flossing themselves with conventional floss, and it may be an optimal solution for patients starting to use dental floss and for those with a lesser or only sporadic history of floss utilization.

Association between the Number of Prosthetic Crowns and Periodontitis: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNANES VII) from 2016–2018

“…To prevent disease of teeth with prostheses, more thorough dental care and controlling methods are needed compared to normal teeth [25][26][27][28]. For example, plaque accumulation around the prosthesis and inappropriate oral health management can cause periodontal disease and secondary caries [29,30].…”

Association between the number of prosthetic crowns and periodontitis: a cross-sectional study

“…In order to prevent disease of teeth with prostheses, more thorough dental care and controlling methods are needed compared to normal teeth [19][20][21][22][23]. In addition, periodontal disease and secondary caries can easily occur due to plaque accumulation under the prosthesis and inappropriate oral health management [24,25,26].…”

Effects of interdental aids on clinical periodontal indices

“…The present study is a comparative study that compares the outcome of different oral hygiene measures. As shown in Figure 1, the participants included 150 systemically healthy male subjects, with age range (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) Regarding bias, ascertainment and performance bias were avoided as all clinical parameters were recorded by the same clinician who was totally blinded about the oral hygiene measures that the participants were already using.…”

“…In concordance with the current study, a study performed by who found that different types of dental floss result in a reduction of total and interdental plaque index in comparison with brushing only. 24 Although dental floss is not useful in reversing periodontal diseases, it has been stated by the European Federation of Periodontology that the use of dental floss may avoid the development of gingival inflammation and periodontal diseases. 25 The highest mean of GI was found in the teeth brushing group although there were no significant differences among groups these results agree with ) 26 who found no significant differences in gingival index between groups who used and not used manual dental floss.…”