Mechanical

Traditional mechanical methods of controlling plaque accumulation with twice daily toothbrushing and interdental plaque control methods such as dental floss, interdental brushes, water flossers etc. must continue as they have an impact on “disrupting” the biofilm rather than totally annihilating all of its resident microbes. Use of electric toothbrushes has been shown through a plethora of studies to have superior results to manual toothbrushes and should be encouraged. However brushing alone has only been shown to be partially effective, thus chemical means of plaque control should be used to complement these mechanical approaches.