New Oral-B TriZone power brush aims to convert the non-believers

Oral-B's latest addition to its broad range of power toothbrush options, the Oral-B TriZone, is designed to appeal to consumers who, despite all the evidence supporting the efficacy of power brushing, still prefer the "manual" brushing experience.

Oral-B has built an empire on round-headed power toothbrushes that use "oscillation-rotation" technology that is clinically proven¹ to remove more plaque and reduce gingivitis better than manual brushes in the short and long term… and better than any other powered design as well.

Now with the introduction of TriZone, Oral-B is endeavouring to appeal to consumers who may have tried an oscillation-rotation or sonic brush (like the Oral-B Pulsonic Power Toothbrush) in the past and preferred the "feel" of brushing their teeth the old fashioned way, as well as consumers who have never experienced using a power brush at all.

TriZone's head both looks like a manual toothbrush and is optimized to work with brushing techniques consumers naturally use. Consumers don't have to adapt their brushing technique as they do with a regular Oral-B power brush; in essence they will always get the best results whether they pay attention to technique or not.

As its name suggests, the Oral-B TriZone has a Triple-zone Cleaning Action. The:

1. Dynamic Angled Power Tip cleans molar and anterior lingual surfaces;
2. Blue Pulsating-Stationary Bristles deliver a thorough tooth surface cleaning; and
3. White Pulsating-Sweeping Bristles reach interdental spaces.

Through wide sweeps, TriZone covers an area that is 43% wider than a manual brush, which ensures even areas far back in the mouth are reached.

The blue stationary bristles are similar to those on a manual toothbrush, thoroughly cleaning tooth surfaces and the combination of manual motion and power pulsations give a noticeablely better and smoother clean that consumers can feel with their tongue. The white wide sweeping bristles are designed for interdental cleaning with the bristles sweeping perpendicular to the manual brushing motion, ensuring all interdental spaces are cleaned thoroughly.

The patented design of the brush head has two levels of tufting that enables a manual-like feel with power performance. The head is 20% smaller than an average manual brush to facilitate a better reach in all areas of the mouth while the sweeping bristles reach wider and more deeply than a manual brush. Toothpaste usage is similar to a manual brush. Indicator bristles in the power tip also ensure bristle wear is clearly visible.

Table 1. TriZone at a glance

• TriZone provides a familiar brushing experience to make for an easy transition to Power
• 96% of consumers use a circling or scrubbing motion when brushing, leaving up to 50% of plaque behind
• TriZone sweeps away plaque left behind by manual brushing - removing 2x more plaque than a manual brush
• TriZone cleans particularly well in between teeth and in hard to reach areas, while users can still brush like they do with a manual brush
• Oscillation/Rotation remains the gold standard in oral hygiene. It’s small round brush head allows for cupping and cleaning teeth one at a time
• TriZone brush head can be used with the Oral-B Triumph 5000

A powerful pedigree

Oral-B and Braun have been synonymous with power toothbrushes for as long as most people working in the dental profession today can remember. 50 years ago in 1963, both companies separately developed and launched power brushes - the Oral-B Automatic and the Braun Mayadent. These early power brushes tried to imitate the action of a manual toothbrush with limited success.

Power brushing was somewhat of a novelty for the next few decades. Following the combination of Oral-B and Braun in 1984 (Gillette acquired Braun in 1967 and Oral-B in 1984; Gillette was acquired by Procter and Gamble in 2005), however, the Braun Oral-B brand literally revolutionised power brush design.

Rather than trying to replicate how we brush manually, Oral-B instead drew inspiration from the dental profession. Studying how dentists and hygienists polish teeth resulted in the development of the dentist-inspired small rotating round head powerbrush design. Early models had control issues in the mouth as the uni-directional rotation meant the brush head would skid away quite easily.

This in turn led to the development of the now famous oscillating/rotating pattern that remains the gold standard for power brush design to this day. Backed by over 230 clinical studies conducted at over 30 centres around the world, the Oral-B power tooth brush brand is the most recommended by dentists worldwide with the Cochrane Collaboration concluding that: "Rotation-Oscillation powered toothbrushes remove plaque and reduce gingivitis more than manual brushes in the short and long term… no other powered designs were consistently superior to manual toothbrushes.".

With the launch of the new TriZone, which successfully replicates the manual brushing experience, the Oral-B power brush range has effectively come full circle.

References

1. Manual vs Power Systematic Review, The Cochrane Collaboration, Cochrane Update, September 2011.

Oral-B TriZone 3000

With an incredible 48,800 movements, 8,800 direction changes and 40,000 pulsations per minute, the Oral-B TriZone 3000 is designed to remove up to 2 x more plaque than a regular manual toothbrush. Boasting a Triple-Zone cleaning action with pulsating, sweeping and stationary bristles, with a dynamic angled power tip. Key features include:

• Familiar brush head shape - no need to change brushing techniques;
• Visual pressure indicator to help protect teeth and gums from excessive brushing;
• Unique rotating, oscillating and pulsating action to break up and sweep away plaque;
• 3 customised brushing modes: Daily Clean, Sensitive, Polish;
• Indicator bristles to assist with timely brush head replacement; and
• Two-minute timer with 30-second intervals to encourage longer brushing and patient compliance.

Oral-B TriZone Clinical Studies

A 4-week clinical comparison of a novel multi-directional power brush to a manual toothbrush in the reduction of gingivitis and plaque

Sharma NC, et al. Am J Dent 2012; 25 (Spec Iss A): 14A-20A

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a novel multi-directional power toothbrush in reducing plaque and gingivitis relative to a standard manual toothbrush control.

Results: 119 evaluable subjects completed the study. Both the novel power and manual control toothbrushes yielded statistically significant (P< 0.001) mean plaque reductions compared to baseline at Weeks 1 and 4 (except Week 1 manual brush gingival margin) and significant mean MGI and GBI gingivitis reductions (P< 0.001). Comparing the relative effectiveness of the test brushes, the novel multi-directional power brush produced significantly superior anti-gingivitis and anti-plaque reductions compared to pre-treatment relative to the manual control brush in every analysis at both time points. The Week 4 adjusted mean relative reductions favoring the multi-directional power brush were 3 and 1.49 times greater for whole mouth MGI and GBI, respectively (P< 0.001); and were 2.1, 4.7 and 2 times greater for the RMNPI whole mouth, gingival margin and interproximal regions, respectively (P< 0.001). Both toothbrushes were well-tolerated (Am J Dent 2012;25 Sp Is A:14A-20A).

Conclusion: A novel multi-directional power toothbrush provided superior gingivitis and plaque reductions relative to a manual control toothbrush over a 4-week period.

8-week evaluation of anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis benefits of a unique multi-directional power toothbrush versus a sonic control toothbrush

Klukowska M, et al. Am J Dent 2012; 25 (Spec Iss A): 27A-32A

Objective: To assess the ability of a novel multi-directional power toothbrush to control plaque and gingivitis when compared to a marketed sonic power toothbrush control.

Results: A total of 128 evaluable subjects completed the study. After 8 weeks of brushing, both test toothbrushes provided statistically significant reductions compared to baseline in mean whole mouth MGI and GBI, and in RMNPI whole mouth and interproximal (approximal) sites (P< 0.001). The novel multi-directional power brush consistently produced significantly superior anti-gingivitis and anti-plaque reductions relative to pre-treatment versus the sonic control brush: the Week 8 adjusted mean relative reductions were 30% and 29% greater for whole mouth MGI and GBI, respectively (P< 0.001); and were 44% and 77% greater for the RMNPI whole mouth and interproximal regions, respectively (P≤ 0.003). Both toothbrushes were well-tolerated. (Am J Dent 2012;25 Sp Is A:27A-32A).

Conclusion: Brushing for an 8-week period with a novel multi-directional power toothbrush with wireless display provided superior gingivitis and plaque reductions relative to a marketed sonic control toothbrush.