A comparison of three methods for estimating dental plaque removal from individual teeth.

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of dental plaque removal, in vitro, by physical force. Of the 3 methods used, turbidity was the most sensitive for measuring microgram amounts of plaque. Air-dried weight and dental plaque imprint assays (DPIA) complemented turbidity measurements by providing a weight standard and a new method for visualizing plaque bacterial structure before the stained imprint was transformed into numerical data. The amount of dental plaque removed from a tooth by physical force can be measured and described as a percentage of the total removable plaque on that tooth.