Comparative Efficacy of Dental Flossing Before or After Tooth Brushing on Interproximal Plaque Reduction and Fluoride Retention in That Area

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02971514

Enrollment

Registered

2016-11-23

Start date

2014-05-31

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2016-11-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dental Devices, Home Care

Brief summary

This randomized controlled crossover trial conducted on 25 dental students. in the preliminary session each volunteer was given a toothbrush(Trisa, soft, Switzerland) and toothpaste(Pooneh, Iran) and Dental Floss( Mina, Iran)to use during the study, and they were instructed the proper techniques of brushing and flossing.The study was performed in two treatment sessions and a 48 hour washout period. They passed through the sessions in a randomized sequence. After prophylaxis with rubber cup, they were asked to discontinue all oral hygiene for 24 hour. At the first session , they flossed first followed by brushing (floss-brush group) and at the other session they used dental floss after brushing (brush-floss group) . At each session, before and after brushing and flossing , Dental plaque reduction was assessed using Rustogi Modified Navi Plaque Index. Interdental plaque was collected for measuring fluoride. Differences between the two groups were analyzed with mixed model test.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALFlossing before Brushing

BEHAVIORALBrushing before Flossing

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

TRIPLE (Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to 25 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Dental students with 16 teeth in each jaw who had Normal salivary volume No active caries No medicine which could be affect salivary secretion No fluoride consumption in the last two weeks No Antibiotic consumption in the last 4 weeks

Exclusion criteria

* Any systemic diseases Periodontal diseases Crowding

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Dental plaque reduction	immediately Before brushing/ flossing and immediately after these procedures	Dental plaque assessed using a scale known as: Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
fluoride concentration in Interdental plaque	Immediately after toothbrushing /flossing interdental plaque was collected for fluoride measurement	fluoride concentration measured using ppm scale (microgram/milliliter)

Countries

Iran

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026