Background: Studies evaluating the efficacy of oral hygiene procedures typically focus on prevention or maintenance after periodontal therapy. Little is known about the specific benefit of a power toothbrush during therapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of power toothbrushing compared to manual toothbrushing in patients undergoing the initial phase of periodontal therapy.

Methods: This was an examiner-masked, randomized, two-arm parallel study involving 70 adults (range, 23 to 81 years) with untreated periodontitis. After an initial supragingival debridement, subjects were assigned to toothbrushing with a manual (group M) or power (group P) toothbrush. Subjects returned for evaluation after 7, 14, and 28 days.

Results: At day 28, the mean plaque index (PI) was significantly lower for subjects in group P than for those in group M (P = 0.006). The mean number of sites with PI >1 at days 14 and 28 and the mean number of sites with bleeding on probing at days 14 and 28 also were significantly lower in these subjects (P = 0.018 and P = 0.005, respectively, and P = 0.017 and P = 0.034, respectively). Differences in the mean gingival index, the number of sites with a gingival index >1, mean recession, mean probing depth, and the number of pockets >4 mm were not significant.

Conclusion: Subjects using a power toothbrush during initial treatment reduced supragingival plaque to lower levels and showed significantly less bleeding on probing than subjects using a manual brush.