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J Clin Periodontol 2015; 42 (Suppl. 16): S71–S76 doi: 10.1111/jcpe.

12366

Primary prevention of Iain L. C. Chapple1, Fridus Van der


Weijden2, Christof Doerfer3, David
Herrera4, Lior Shapira5, David Polak5,

periodontitis: managing gingivitis Phoebus Madianos6, Anna


Louropoulou2, Eli Machtei7, Nikos
Donos8, Henry Greenwell9, Ari J. Van
Winkelhoff10, Bahar Eren Kuru11,
Nicole Arweiler12, Wim Teughels13,
Chapple ILC, Van der Weijden F, Doerfer C, Herrera D, Shapira L, Polak D,
Mario Aimetti14, Ana Molina4,
Madianos P, Louropoulou A, Machtei E, Donos N, Greenwell H, Van Winkelhoff
Eduardo Montero4 and Filippo
AJ, Eren Kuru B, Arweiler N, Teughels W, Aimetti M, Molina A, Montero E,
Graziani15
Graziani F. Primary prevention of periodontitis: managing gingivitis. J Clin 1
Periodontol 2015; 42 (Suppl. 16): S71–S76. doi: 10.1111/jcpe.12366. Periodontal Research Group & MRC Centre
for Immune Regulation Birmingham Dental
School, Birmingham, UK; 2ACTA,
Abstract Periodontitis is a ubiquitous and irreversible inflammatory condition
Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 3University of
and represents a significant public health burden. Severe periodontitis affects over Kiel, Kiel, Germany; 4University of
11% of adults, is a major cause of tooth loss impacting negatively upon speech, Complutense, Madrid, Spain; 5Hadassah
nutrition, quality of life and self-esteem, and has systemic inflammatory conse- Medical Centers, Jerusalem, Israel;
quences. Periodontitis is preventable and treatment leads to reduced rates of 6
University of Athens, Athens, Greece;
7
tooth loss and improved quality of life. However, successful treatment necessitates Ramban Medical Center, Haifa, Israel;
8
behaviour change in patients to address lifestyle risk factors (e.g. smoking) and, University College London, London, UK;
9
most importantly, to attain and sustain high standards of daily plaque removal, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA;
lifelong. While mechanical plaque removal remains the bedrock of successful
10
University of Gro€nign, Gro€nign, The
Netherlands; 11Yeditepe University, Istanbul,
periodontal disease management, in high-risk patients it appears that the critical
Turkey; 12University of Marburg, Marburg,
threshold for plaque accumulation to trigger periodontitis is low, and such
Germany; 13Catholic University, Leuven,
patients may benefit from adjunctive agents for primary prevention of Belgium; 14University of Turin, Turin, Italy;
periodontitis. 15
University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Aim: The aims of this working group were to systematically review the evidence
for primary prevention of periodontitis by preventing gingivitis via four Sponsor Representatives: Araujo, Marcelo
approaches: 1) the efficacy of mechanical self-administered plaque control W. B. (Johnson & Johnson); Malgorzata,
regimes; 2) the efficacy of self-administered inter-dental mechanical plaque Klukowska (Procter & Gamble).
control; 3) the efficacy of adjunctive chemical plaque control; and 4) anti-
inflammatory (sole or adjunctive) approaches.
Methods: Two meta-reviews (mechanical plaque removal) and two traditional
systematic reviews (chemical plaque control/anti-inflammatory agents) formed
the basis of this consensus.
Key words: adverse effects; anti-
Results: Data support the belief that professionally administered plaque control inflammatory agents; chemical plaque
significantly improves gingival inflammation and lowers plaque scores, with control; floss; gingivitis; inter-dental brushes;
some evidence that reinforcement of oral hygiene provides further benefit. inter-dental cleaning; manual toothbrushes;
Re-chargeable power toothbrushes provide small but statistically significant mechanical plaque control; meta-analysis;
additional reductions in gingival inflammation and plaque levels. Flossing cannot meta-review; NSAIDs; oral hygiene
be recommended other than for sites of gingival and periodontal health, where instruction; periodontitis; power toothbrushes;
inter-dental brushes (IDBs) will not pass through the interproximal area without primary prevention; safety; secondary
trauma. Otherwise, IDBs are the device of choice for interproximal plaque prevention; self-administered care regimes;
systematic review; water irrigator; wood
removal. Use of local or systemic anti-inflammatory agents in the management of
sticks
gingivitis has no robust evidence base. We support the almost universal recom-
mendations that all people should brush their teeth twice a day for at least 2 min. Accepted for publication 31 December 2014

Conflict of interest and source of funding


Funds for this workshop were provided by the European Federation of Periodontology in part through unrestricted educational
grants from Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble. Workshop participants filed detailed disclosures of potential conflicts of
interest relevant to the workshop topics and these are kept on file. Declared potential dual commitments included having received
research funding, consultancy fees, and speaker’s fees from Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Sunstar,
Unilever, Philips, Dentaid.

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd S71
S72 Chapple et al.

with fluoridated dentifrice. Expert opinion is that for periodontitis patients 2 min.
is likely to be insufficient, especially when considering the need for additional use
of inter-dental cleaning devices. In patients with gingivitis once daily inter-dental
cleaning is recommended and the adjunctive use of chemical plaque control
agents offers advantages in this group.

and while not all patients with gingi- There is a need to systematically
Periodontitis is a ubiquitous disease vitis will progress to periodontitis, appraise the literature concerning
affecting over 50% of the world’s management of gingivitis is both a mechanical and chemical methods of
adult population, and increases fur- primary prevention strategy for perio- controlling the plaque biofilm with a
ther with age (Petersen & Ogawa dontitis and a secondary prevention view to reducing gingival inflamma-
2012). Severe periodontitis is the strategy for recurrent periodontitis. tion as a primary endpoint. This
sixth most prevalent human disease, The development of periodontitis is report represents the consensus views
according to the 2010 global burden in part governed by genetic predis- of Working Group 2 of the 11th
of diseases study, with a standardized position, and is also significantly European Workshop in Periodonto-
prevalence of 11.2% (Kassebaum dependent on lifestyle factors includ- logy on the primary prevention of
et al. 2014) and is a major cause of ing smoking, type 2 diabetes, nutri- periodontitis. The report is substan-
tooth loss. It has a negative impact tion, and psychological stress. tially, but not entirely based on four
upon oral health quality of life, However, the most important risk systematic analyses of the available
speech, nutrition, confidence, and factor for periodontitis is the accu- and published evidence relating to
overall well-being and is indepen- mulation of a plaque biofilm at and mechanical and chemical methods of
dently associated with several sys- below the gingival margin, within controlling gingival inflammation in
temic chronic inflammatory diseases. which dysbiosis develops and is patients with and without a history
Severe periodontitis, therefore, repre- associated with an inappropriate of periodontitis; it does not relate to
sents a significant public health con- and destructive host inflammatory patients with current periodontitis.
cern. immune response. Plaque removal Two of the underpinning papers
Gingivitis and periodontitis are a and/or control is therefore funda- (mechanical plaque removal) adopted
continuum of the same inflammatory mentally important in the prevention a meta-review approach, whereby
disease (Kinane & Attstr€ om 2005) of periodontal diseases. a systematic appraisal of existing
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Primary prevention of gingivitis S73

systematic reviews was undertaken What is the Safety and Efficacy of


What is the efficacy of power brushing in
rather than a repetition of existing reducing gingival inflammation and
Available Self-administered Tooth plaque and what design features affect
systematic reviews, which would have Brushing Regimes for Mechanical the efficacy of power brushes?
added little to the current evidence Plaque Removal on Plaque and
base. The remaining two reviews Gingivitis in Adults? Power brushing is associated with
(chemical plaque control and anti- 46% reductions in plaque scores
inflammatory agents) adopted a tra- Does the provision of professional oral
(index-specific range 35–76%) follow-
ditional systematic review approach hygiene instruction confer anti-gingivitis ing a single exercise of tooth brushing.
and thus differences exist in the gran- benefits and what are the caveats? Greater reductions in plaque scores
ularity of the respective analyses. are achieved with re-chargeable power
Therefore, formulation of the consen- Six-month longitudinal studies brushes than for brushes with replace-
sus appraisal of the meta-reviews was (n = 4) demonstrate that a single epi- able batteries, where index-specific
supplemented by re-visiting the origi- sode of professional oral hygiene plaque score reductions of 71%
nal systematic reviews and under- instruction leads to a small but sta- (Navy)/38% (Quigley & Hein 1962)
pinning individual articles where tistically significant reduction in pla- and 61% (Navy)/33% (Quigley &
necessary, in order to provide addi- que and gingivitis (6% reduction in Hein 1962), respectively, are reported.
tional detail for the recommendations bleeding scores). There are, however, Short-term data (1–3 months)
made. no systematic reviews that have anal- support greater plaque reductions for
Changes in the primary outcome ysed the efficacy of professional oral oscillating-rotating power toothbrushes
(gingival inflammation) were assessed hygiene instruction compared to a than for those employing a side-to-side
as either secondary to reductions in “no oral hygiene instruction” (nega- action. However, differences were small
plaque levels or directly due to anti- tive) control, in relation to changes and their clinical importance was
inflammatory properties of the active in plaque and gingival indices. There unclear. The diversity of power brush
agent. The term “gingival inflamma- is evidence to suggest that additional designs does not permit inferences to
tion” has been employed to avoid effects result from reinforcement of be made about direct comparisons of
confusion with the clinical condition oral hygiene instruction. individual designs and brands.
of “gingivitis”, since some analyses
included the effects of anti-plaque/ How effective is manual brushing at Is power brushing more effective than
inflammatory agents upon inflamma- reducing gingival inflammation and manual brushing (according to brushing
tion at sites of effectively treated but plaque and what design features impact models and home use studies) at
now unstable periodontal inflamma- upon their efficacy? reducing gingival inflammation and
tion. No studies, however, directly A single exercise of manual tooth plaque levels?
aimed to assess the impact of inter- brushing leads to reduction in pla-
ventions on untreated periodontitis. In controlled studies, power tooth-
que scores of approximately 42% brushes produce statistically signifi-
In the context of this consen- (weighted mean; index-specific range
sus report the terms “efficacy” and cantly greater short-term (28 days to
30–53%) from pre-brushing scores. 3 months; 11%) and long-term
“effectiveness” are based on the defini- While there are no data derived
tion presented by the European Medi- (≥3 months; 21%) reductions in pla-
from meta-analyses on the impact que indices compared to manual
cines Agency (Eichler 2010): efficacy is of manual tooth brushing upon
the extent to which an intervention does brushes. The same findings are
gingival inflammation, there is evi- observed for reductions in gingival
more good than harm under ideal cir- dence from individual studies that
cumstances; effectiveness is the extent inflammation (6% – short-term; 11% –
conscientious manual brushing does long-term studies). The benefits of these
to which an intervention does more reduce gingival inflammation. There
good than harm when provided under outcomes for long-term dental health
appears to be a need for an effect are unclear. Importantly, in most stud-
the usual circumstances of health care estimate based on a systematic appr-
practice. ies the time allocated for power and
aisal of the existing scientific evidence manual tooth brushing was identical.
The group recognized that the concerning manual toothbrushes in
majority of the studies that under- relation to managing gingivitis.
pinned the meta-analyses were com- Reductions in plaque scores from What risks are associated with the use of
mercially funded, and while this may baseline are reported as 24–47% for toothbrushes as a primary means of
impact upon the analysis of bias controlling plaque and gingival
flat-trim bristle designs, 33–54% inflammation?
there is a paucity of investigator- for multi-level bristles, and 39–61%
initiated studies. Moreover, the com- for criss-cross designs. However, the There are no data to support or
mercially funded studies applied meta-analyses did not report on refute an association between man-
internationally agreed models and inter-design differences in effective- ual or power tooth brushing and
standards of study design, analysis, ness in order to permit statements to gingival recession. Six-month studies
and reporting and were therefore be made concerning superiority of demonstrate that in terms of gingival
deemed important to accommodate one design over another. recession, oscillating-rotating power
in the systematic review. None of the There are no meta-analyses brushes show equivalent safety to
meta-analyses addressed patient-centred exploring the impact of toothbrush manual brushes. The meta-analysis
outcomes. design upon gingival inflammation. did not identify longer term studies

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
S74 Chapple et al.

that assess the impact of tooth level of acceptance by patients, who (Serrano et al. 2015). However, the
brushing on recession. perceive it as their preferred method. available data suggest minor adverse
Despite being widely advocated, effects; the most frequently reported
What is the Effect of Mechanical it is noteworthy that the majority of being staining. Moreover, a recent
Inter-dental Plaque Removal in available studies fail to demonstrate systematic review found no evidence
Addition to Tooth Brushing on that flossing is generally effective in for the presumed association between
Managing Gingivitis using Various plaque removal and in reducing gin- the daily use of chemical mouth rinses
Inter-dental Self-care Formats? gival inflammation. and oral cancer (Gandini et al. 2012).

Does daily interproximal cleaning in Should all individuals perform inter-dental Does the delivery format of the chemical
addition to tooth brushing reduce gingival plaque removal at least once daily to agent employed (dentifrice and/or mouth
inflammation and does it also reduce prevent the onset of gingival inflammation rinses) impact upon its efficacy in
interproximal plaque levels compared to or manage its resolution? reducing gingival inflammation and
tooth brushing alone? plaque levels?
No RCTs were identified which asse-
Interproximal cleaning is essential in ssed whether individual sites without When chemical anti-plaque ingredi-
order to maintain interproximal gin- attachment loss and no signs of gin- ents were delivered in mouth rinse for-
gival health, in particular for second- gival inflammation (healthy sites) mat, additional to tooth brushing the
ary prevention and may be achieved would benefit from daily interproxi- magnitude of the improvements in
using different devices, including mal plaque control. gingival inflammation and plaque lev-
inter-dental brushes (IDB, which are Strategies designed to manage els was larger than delivered by denti-
not single-tufted brushes), floss, resolution of inflammation need to frice only. However, the lack of direct
wood sticks, and oral irrigators. incorporate interproximal cleaning comparisons between delivery for-
There is moderate evidence to sug- tools/methods on a routine basis. mats precludes statements of superi-
gest that the adjunctive use of IDB’s While there is currently no optimal ority. The selection of the delivery
provides higher levels of plaque method for interproximal cleaning, format is dependent on the choice of
removal than manual tooth brushing IDB’s should be the first choice. preferred active agent. Other relevant
alone. Other interproximal cleaning Importantly, interproximal cleaning factors to account for when choosing
devices show very inconsistent/weak advice requires professional training the delivery format include cost,
evidence for an adjunctive effect, irrespective of the devices utilized. patient preference, and compliance.
either due to a lack of efficacy (floss- The evidence underpinning each of the
ing) or a lack of evidence from appro- formulations that are supported by at
priate clinical investigations (oral In Humans with Gingivitis, What is least one meta-analysis is summarized
irrigators and wood sticks). There is, the Efficacy of Chemical Plaque in Table 5 of the companion systematic
however, limited evidence that gingi- Control Formulations Used review (Serrano et al. 2015).
val inflammation is reduced by inter- Adjunctively with Mechanical Plaque
proximal cleaning, even when IDB’s Control?
Should adjunctive chemical anti-plaque
are employed. The reasons for this agents (dentifrice and/or mouth rinse) be
discrepancy are unclear, but may Do chemical anti-plaque agents within recommended in addition to mechanical
mouth rinses and/or dentifrices, used oral hygiene measures for routine daily
relate to limitations in the ability of
adjunctively with mechanical plaque use to manage gingival inflammation and
the gingival indices employed to assess removal provide additional improvements prevent plaque accumulation?
interproximal inflammation, the heter- in gingival inflammation and plaque
ogeneity of outcome measures utilized levels? Current evidence shows that the use
(plaque versus gingival inflammation) of anti-plaque chemical agents deliv-
or the heterogeneity of study designs. When used as an adjunctive therapy ered in a mouth rinse or dentifrice
to conventional manual tooth brush- format, adjunctive to tooth brushing
ing with a fluoridated dentifrice, the is beneficial. Decisions on recommen-
Is there evidence to support the general
use of chemical anti-plaque agents in dation should account for the eco-
recommendation of one inter-dental
cleaning method over another?
mouth rinses or incorporated into the nomic cost and adverse effects (e.g.
fluoridated dentifrice, alone or in staining) associated with long-term
Evidence suggests that inter-dental combination, offers clear and signifi- use of such agents and should also
cleaning with IDB’s is the most cant improvements in managing gin- account for country-specific regula-
effective method for interproximal gival inflammation and preventing tions and environmental implications.
plaque removal. IDB’s were consis- plaque accumulation. While there was
tently associated with higher levels significant heterogeneity in the meta-
of plaque removal when compared analysis and significant variations in Are Anti-inflammatory Agents
to flossing and the use of wood individual study characteristics, sig- Effective in Treating Gingivitis as
sticks. No comparisons are available nificant publication bias and high risk Solo or Adjunct Therapies?
from meta-analyses evaluating oral of bias in some individual studies, the
irrigators and information pertaining outcomes are consistent. The benefits Do topical or systemic anti-inflammatory
to reductions in gingival inflamma- agents have a role to play in helping to
of this for long-term dental health are
reduce gingival inflammation?
tion is limited. The superiority of unclear and adverse events were
IDB’s is related to the higher efficacy not systematically evaluated in the There is only weak evidence that sys-
in plaque removal and to the high underlying review and meta-analysis temically administered non-steroidal
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Primary prevention of gingivitis S75

anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) manual toothbrushes in relation to RCT’s are needed to validate its effi-
have a positive effect in reducing the managing gingivitis. cacy.
clinical signs of gingival inflamma- The effect of toothbrush filament
tion expressed as bleeding on probing texture and arrangement should be
Public Health Recommendations
and a variety of gingival indices. systematically evaluated to determine
There is no evidence that local their relative effect on the reduction There is a universal recommendation
NSAID application impacts posi- of plaque and gingivitis as well as to brush twice daily for at least
tively upon gingival inflammation. the cause of adverse events. 2 min. with a fluoridated dentifrice.
One RCT has demonstrated a posi- Investigator-initiated studies that For periodontitis patients 2 min. is
tive effect of systemic vitamin D intake directly compare commercially avail- likely to be insufficient.
in reducing gingival inflammation in able power toothbrushes are needed Daily inter-dental cleaning is
gingivitis patients. to establish their relative effectiveness. strongly recommended to reduce pla-
Long-term (over 12-months) RCTs que and gingival inflammation.
are needed to evaluate the risk of gin- In patients with gingivitis, the
Clinical Recommendations
gival recession associated with tooth adjunctive use of chemical agents for
Professional OHI should be provided brushing. plaque control offers advantages.
to reduce plaque and gingivitis. Re- RCTs stratified according to the
enforcement of OHI may provide presence or absence of inter-dental
additional benefits. attachment loss, are encouraged for References
Manual or power tooth brushing IDBs and other inter-dental cleaning Caton, J. G. & Polson, A. M. (1985) The interdental
is recommended as a primary means devices, accepting the need to ensure bleeding index: a simplified procedure for moni-
of reducing plaque and gingivitis. the presence of adequate inter-dental toring gingival health. The Compendium of
Continuing Education in Dentistry 88, 90–92.
The benefits of tooth brushing out- space and appropriate brush sizes. Eichler, H.-G. (2010) Addressing the efficacy-
weigh any potential risks. There is a need to use specific effectiveness gap. European Medicines Agency,
Where improvements in plaque indices designed to evaluate the science, medicines, health. London: EMA.
control are required re-chargeable inter-dental zone for plaque and gin- Gandini, S., Negri, E., Boffetta, P., La Vecchia,
C. & Boyle, P. (2012) Mouthwash and oral
power brushes should be considered. gival inflammation. cancer risk – quantitative meta-analysis of epi-
When gingival inflammation is We recommend standardization in demiologic studies. Annals of Agricultural and
present, inter-dental cleaning, prefer- the use of plaque and gingival indices Environmental Medicine 19, 173–180.
ably with IDB’s should be profes- for RCTs assessing interproximal pla- Kassebaum, N. J., Bernabe, E., Dahiya, M., Bhan-
sionally taught to patients. Clinicians que and bleeding, by employing the dari, B., Murray, C. J. L. & Marcenes, W.
(2014) Global burden of severe periodontitis
may suggest other inter-dental clean- Wolffe plaque index (Wolffe 1976) in 1990–2010: a systematic review and meta-
ing devices/methods when the use of for open inter-dental spaces, and the regression. Journal of Dental Research 93, 1045–
IDB’s is not appropriate. Eastman inter-dental bleeding index 1053.
Caution should be exercised in (Caton & Polson 1985) for open and Kinane, D. F. & Attstr€ om, R. (2005) Advances in
the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Group B con-
recommending IDBs at healthy sites closed inter-dental spaces. Examiners sensus report of the fifth European Workshop
where attachment loss is not evident must be trained and calibrated. in Periodontology. Journal of Clinical Periodon-
and trauma may result. The use of Patient outcome measures should tology 32(Suppl. 6), 130–131.
floss may have a role to play only in also be assessed, for example, assess- Petersen, P. E. & Ogawa, H. (2012) The global
burden of periodontal disease: towards integra-
this situation. Professional instruc- ment of compliance, manual dexter- tion with chronic disease prevention and con-
tion is vital for achieving optimal ity, preference and oral health quality trol. Periodontology 2000 60, 15–39.
effectiveness and to avoid trauma. of life should also be encouraged. Polak, D., Martin, C., Sanz, I., Beyth, N. &
For the treatment of gingivitis and Research on oral hygiene prod- Shapira, L. (2015) Are anti-inflammatory
agents efficient in treating gingivitis as solo or
where improvements in plaque control ucts should follow accepted guide- adjunct therapy? A systematic review Journal
are required, adjunctive use of anti- lines and register the study protocol of Clinical Periodontology, (in press).
plaque chemical agents may be consid- in a regulated database to help Quigley, G. A. & Hein, J. W. (1962) Comparative
ered. In this scenario, mouth rinses reduce the risk of publication bias. cleansing efficiency of manual and power
may offer greater efficacy but require In future systematic reviews there brushing. Journal of the American Dental Asso-
ciation 65, 26–29.
an additional action to the mechanical is a need to identify factors leading S€
alzer, S., Dorfer, C., van der Weijden, F. & Slot,
oral hygiene regime (for specific details to the observed heterogeneity in D. E. (2015) Efficacy of interdental mechanical
see table 5 in Serrano et al. 2015). meta-analyses. plaque control in managing gingivitis - a meta-
The use of local or systemic RCTs are required to directly review. Journal of Clinical Periodontology, (in
press).
NSAID’s for the control of gingival compare delivery formats of active Serrano, J., Escribano, M., Roldan, S., Martin,
inflammation cannot be recom- ingredients. C. & Herrera, D. (2015) Efficacy of adjunctive
mended at this time due to a lack of RCT’s are needed to evaluate the chemical plaque control in managing gingivitis.
sufficient scientific evidence. risks and benefits of systemic and A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin
Periodontol 2015; 42 (Suppl. 16): S106–S138.
local NSAID’s for reduction of gin- Van der Weijden, F. & Slot, G. E. (2015) Efficacy
gival inflammation before they can of homecare regimes for mechanical plaque
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Due to the fact that the systemic Journal of Clinical Periodontology, (in press).
There is a need for an effect estimate Wolffe, G. N. (1976) An evaluation of proximal
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© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
S76 Chapple et al.

Address: Birmingham Dental School UK


Iain L.C. Chapple St Chads Queensway E-mail: I.L.C.Chapple@bham.ac.uk
Periodontal Research Group & MRC Centre Birmingham B4 6NN
for Immune Regulation

Clinical Relevance and ideally by reinforcement. In con- for beneficial effects from adjunctive
Background: It is widely reported trolled studies, power brushes provide use of anti-plaque chemical agents
that mechanical plaque control is small but statistically significantly in managing gingivitis and prevent-
the mainstay of primary prevention greater reductions in plaque and gin- ing plaque accumulation but insuffi-
of gingivitis and managing gingivi- givitis, and re-chargeable devices cient evidence to support the use of
tis as a primary preventive strategy reduce plaque levels more than bat- anti-inflammatory drugs in manag-
for periodontitis. However, the tery operated power brushes. Inter- ing gingival inflammation.
exact nature of such regimes and proximal cleaning is essential for Conclusions: This consensus has
the role of adjunctive chemical and gingival health and adjunctive use of developed a series of recommenda-
anti-inflammatory agents require inter-dental brushes provides higher tions for practitioners, patients and
systematic evaluation. levels of plaque removal than tooth public health bodies on self-care
Principal findings: The use of brushing alone; however, there is a regimes for managing gingival
mechanical agents for plaque con- lack of evidence for the efficacy of inflammation by mechanical and
trol should be underpinned by pro- dental floss for plaque removal or chemical approaches to plaque
fessional oral hygiene instruction reducing gingivitis. There is evidence control.

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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