The Effect of Instructed Dental Flossing on Interdental Gingival Bleeding: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Gingival Inflammation

In brief

In this study, half of the participants will be asked to floss as normal, while the other half will receive professional instructions on flossing from a dentist. The investigators want to see if the participants who have professional flossing instructions are able to remove plaque in between the teeth more effectively, and have less gum bleeding over time. The investigators also want to see if participants who receive professional flossing instructions get better at the technique over time, and if they can match the dentist's skill by the end of the study.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04218994

Run by

Tufts University

People needed

42

Starts

2018-01-08

Expected to finish

2018-12-02

Last updated by the study team

2020-01-06

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• At least 18 years of age
• Subjects must show > 20% interproximal sites (mesial facial and mesial lingual and distal facial and distal lingual) with BoP. This includes mesial and distal sites next to edentulous areas.
• Subjects must have > 24 natural teeth including teeth with crowns with margins confluent with the natural tooth as long as they do not violate the biologic width.
• Third molars will be excluded from study; unless the third molars are in the anatomical position of second molars. However, subjects with third molars present will be accepted into the study unless there are other factors that exclude them.
• Subjects must report having had a professional dental prophylaxis within four months of beginning the study.
• Subjects must be willing to floss daily and to be taught and use a specific technique of flossing.

You may not qualify if…

• Subjects who use tobacco products.
• Subjects with fixed or removable orthodontic appliances
• Subjects with splinted fixed prostheses.
• Subjects who are incapable of flossing their teeth
• Subjects with defective interproximal restorations or interproximal caries that are clinically evident and impacting gingival health.
• Subjects where malposed teeth preclude the use of floss
• Subjects with probing depth greater than or equal to 5mm.
• Subjects who are pregnant (self-reported) due to the greater bleeding tendency due to the hormonal changes.
• Subjects with a systemic disease that affects the gingiva or are taking medications of which affect the gingiva.
• Non-English speaking subjects, as study assessments and instructions will be in English only. There is no direct benefit to subjects for taking part in this study, therefore the exclusion of non-English speaking subjects is not an ethical concern.

Where it is running

• Tufts University School of Dental Medicine — Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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