Compendium of continuing education in dentistry
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Compend Contin Educ Dent · Jul 1995
Review Comparative StudyA review of current toothbrush bristle endo-rounding studies.
Rounded toothbrush bristle tips are desirable because they are less likely to abrade hard and soft tissue and restorative materials than sharp-pointed bristles. Studies evaluating different types of toothbrushes have compared the degree of the end-roundness of different brands of toothbrushes, but have yielded conflicting results. Nine studies and three methods of evaluating end-rounding are reviewed in this article. ⋯ Of the 9 studies reviewed, 3 studies that used the 45-degree microscopic techniques provide the most useful information of toothbrush bristle end-roundness to date. Of the brushes compared in these three studies, Crest Complete and Improved Crest Complete toothbrushes were shown to have the highest degree of end-roundness. Future research should include longitudinal studies to clarify the relationship of the degree of end-rounding of toothbrush bristles and soft-and hard-tissue abrasion.