The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Sonicare Elite® power toothbrush in plaque removal and reduction of gingivitis from hard-to-reach sites of the moderate periodontitis compared to regular manual toothbrush in 12 week follow-up.

82 subjects with incipient to moderate periodontitis were randomly assigned to use either the manual or sonic brush, instructed in its use, and asked to brush 2 times a day for 2 minutes. Plaque scores were taken at baseline, 1, 4, 12 weeks using Silness & Löe plaque index and gingival inflammation was assessed by the Löe & Silness gingival index. The results were as follows.

1. The Sonicare Elite® power toothbrush showed a significant reduction(p<0.0001) of the plaque(Silness & Löe) and gingival inflammation(Löe & Silness).

2. The Sonicare Elite® power toothbrush showed a significant better reduction of plaque and gingivitis(p<0.05) than the manual toothbrush after 1, 4, and 12 weeks.

3. The Sonicare Elite® power toothbrush demonstrated a significant reduction(p<0.0001) of the plaque in interproximal sites(p<0.0001), buccal sites(p<0.0001) and the lingual sites(p=0.0018) of the teeth.

4.The Sonicare Elite® power toothbrush demonstrated a significant reduction(p<0.0001) of the gingival inflammation in the interproximal sites(p<0.0001), the buccal sites(p<0.0001) and the lingual sites(p<0.0001) of the teeth.

The results of this study support the findings that Sonicare Elite® power toothbrush has a great potential to remove the plaque and resolve the gingival inflammation during the period of 12 week.