PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Deborah Mancinelli-Lyle
AU  - Jimmy G. Qaqish
AU  - C. Ram Goyal
AU  - Reinhard Schuller
TI  - Efficacy of water flossing on clinical parameters of inflammation and plaque: A four-week randomized controlled trial
DP  - 2023 Oct 01
TA  - American Dental Hygienists' Association
PG  - 166--186
VI  - 97
IP  - 5
4099  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/97/5/166.short
4100  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/97/5/166.full
SO  - J Dent Hyg2023 Oct 01; 97
AB  - Purpose The primary prevention of periodontitis is controlling gingivitis daily. The study objective was to compare the efficacy of a pulsating water flosser to a pulsating water flosser infused with air microbubbles on clinical signs of inflammation and plaque.Methods One hundred and five participants were enrolled in this single-blind, single-center, parallel, four-week, IRB/IEC-approved clinical trial. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: water flosser (WF) plus manual toothbrush, water flosser infused with microbubbles of air (MBWF) plus manual toothbrush, or dental floss (DF) plus manual toothbrush. Bleeding on probing (BOP), Modified Gingival Index (MGI), and Rustogi Modification Navy Plaque Index (RMNPI) scores were recorded at baseline, 2-weeks, and 4-weeks.Results All participants completed the study (n=105). All groups showed a statistically significant reduction for BOP, MGI, and RMNPI at 4-weeks (p<0.05, except DF marginal RMNPI). The WF group showed a statistically significant greater reduction in whole mouth BOP (0.41) compared to MBWF (0.32) and DF (0.19). This was also true for MGI (0.37, 0.30, and 0.20, respectively) and RMNPI (0.13, 0.11, and 0.06, respectively) (p<0.05 for all comparisons). No adverse events were reported.Conclusion This study demonstrates that a manual toothbrush and water flosser, with or without microbubbles, is an effective oral care regimen for controlling gingivitis over four weeks.