COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE EVALUATION OF BACTERIAL PLAQUE REMOVAL EFFICIENCY BY AIRFLOW AND PROFESSIONAL POLISHING

Abstract

Introduction: Bacterial accumulation on the dental surfaces is the main cause of oral pathology of both hard and soft tissues such as caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. Regular mechanical removal of the bacterial plaque is considered essential for preventing and stopping the progression of periodontal disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate comparatively the efficiency of bacterial plaque removal from dental structures by two methods: airflow and professional brushing. Material and methods: The study was made of 20 subjects who presented at the Dental Medicine Faculty, Prevention Discipline, of University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi for dental services. The study consisted in a questionnaire of 10 items regarding oral hygiene habits, a clinical evaluation and removal of the bacterial plaque by professional scaling and brushing. The data were recorded by clinical examination performed by a single examiner who evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively the presence of the bacterial plaque through the Quigley-Hein plaque index, the O`Leary index and the API (Approximal Plaque Index) index, but also the oral hygiene index. OHI (Oral Hygiene Index).The following steps consisted in two stages after initial evaluation: professional brushing and the reassessment of the bacterial plaque indices, and stage two, airflow followed by the reassessment of the bacterial plaque indices. The collected data was statistically analyzed using SPSS 16. and the mean, standard deviation, standard error, and paired t-test were calculated to obtain evidence based on scientific interpretation.Results: The results showed significant results between the two measures of professional cleaning especially when it comes to evaluation of the O’Leary index and the API index, the values for the second stage of treatment, the airbrush, being significantly decreased.There are differences between the OHI index and also Quigley Hein, but not in such an important degree, this being explained by the evaluated sites for plaque identification that are more easily cleaned by professional polishing. As suspected the highest difference was in AHI index, which is only another statement of how difficult is to properly clean the interproximal spaces. Conclusion: Periodic monitoring of the presence of the bacterial plaque through the established oral hygiene and bacterial plaque indices is an important method in the primary prevention of dental caries. However professional cleaning is mandatory at least once per year if not every six months, scaling combined with polishing and air flow has proven to be the golden standard for oral hygiene.

Keywords

• air-flow
• oral health education
• professional polishing