Effects of the multi-channeled oral irrigation (MCOI) unit in preventing dental plaque formation and gingivitis: A randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of COMORAL a new multi-channeled oral irrigation (MCOI) unit with pulsating water jet, in plaque score reduction and gingivitis.

Methods: This was a single-blinded clinical randomized controlled trial (NCT05031260). Forty-two healthy subjects between 18 to 35 years old were initially recruited, and the control group (n = 20) and the intervention group (n = 17) were randomly assigned. Both groups were asked to brush their teeth one or two times a day without any supplementary oral hygiene products while the intervention group used COMORAL 3 times a day, 5 days a week. Clinical indices including gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), pocket depth (PD), gingival recession (GR), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were obtained at the baseline (D0), day 14 (D14), and day 28 (D28). Saliva was collected to examine the presence of periodontal pathogens. The repeated measures analysis of variance or generalized estimating equation was used to compare the interaction between groups and time points. The independent t-test or Mann-Whitney test were used for intergroup differences at each time point.

Results: At V0, PI, GI, BOP, and PD scores showed no differences between the two groups. At V1 and V2, these scores showed significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05) such that the intervention group showed gradual decreases while the control group showed no change. There were no differences in GR, CAL, and periodontal pathogens between the two groups. COMORAL showed improvement in reducing gingival inflammation and dental plaque formation adjuvant to routine toothbrushing in healthy adults.

Clinical significance: The results of this study can be useful to clinicians when selecting oral hygiene devices that can help improve patients' routine oral hygiene practice and their overall oral health.