Resumo

PEREZ BEJARANO, NM I et al. Effectiveness of the loofa (Luffa cylindrica. L Roem) brush in the supragingival plaque removal. Paraguay, 2010 . Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2011, vol.9, n.2, pp.05-14. ISSN 1812-9528.

ABSTRACT One of the main causes of oral diseases is dental plaque. The loofah (Luffa cylindrica. L Roem) brush could become an economics alternative auxiliary to control dental plaque. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the loofa brush against the conventional toothbrush in the supragingival plaque removal. This was a randomized clinical trial, single blinded for the evaluator. Ninety five odontology students from the governmental National University of Asuncion and the private Pacifico and Autonoma de Asunción universities were included in the study. They did not have any obvious oral pathology and had more than 20% of dental plaque in the initial examination. The presence of basal gingival plaque was evaluated with the O’ Leary index after a minimum of six hours without brushing and using mouthwash. Then, they brushed their teeth with the method assigned and the presence of supragingival plaque was reevaluated. There was no significant difference in the mean percentages of plaque by the Luffa plaque technique compared with the conventional technique after brushing (60% ± 19 vs 62% ± 19 vs 62 ±, p value=0.53, Student’s t test). The loofa brush (Loofah cylindrica, L. Roem) is an economical alternative for the reduction of the supragingival plaque.

Palavras-chave : dental brush; Luffa cylindrica; dental plaque.

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