Clinical Efficacy of AirFloss Ultra on Interdental Health and Adherence of Adults

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Philips Sonicare AirFloss Ultra on interdental gingivitis in patients with generally good oral hygiene but deficiencies in the interdental region using the PBI (primary end point) and mAPI. AirFloss Ultra was compared to dental floss during an examination period of four weeks. Methods: 32 adult patients with moderate plaque-induced gingivitis were included in this study and randomized to either the test group (AirFloss Ultra, AF) or the control group (dental floss, DF). All patients were examined on the baseline day and the values were documented. After four weeks of daily use of the interdental cleaning aids, the patients were re-examined and the results were documented. Subsequently a questionnaire to investigate the adherence to the interdental cleaning aids was filled out by the patients. Results: In all patients who could be re-examined (29), an improvement of the gingivitis could be observed after four weeks of daily use of dental floss and AirFloss Ultra. The test-group (AF) performed equally in comparison to the control group (DF). The evaluation of the questionnaire proved that AirFloss Ultra was highly accepted. Significance: The study proves that AirFloss Ultra is of equal value to dental floss in the management of interdental plaque and therefore is eligible for the prevention of gingivitis. In addition, the acceptance resulting from the easy handling is very high and therefore also recommended for manually impaired patients. Keywords: gingivitis, plaque, AirFloss, high-velocity microdroplet device, microburst, power interdental cleaning device, approximal, interdental, adherence