Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated floss) vs Toothbrushing alone: Gingivitis
- Population
- Dentate adults aged 16 years or older (excluding orthodontic patients and those with severe periodontal disease)
- Intervention
- Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated floss)
- Comparison
- Toothbrushing alone
- Outcome
- Gingivitis
Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated… led to lower gingivitis (Gingival Index, 0-3 scale; SMD) compared with toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse); GRADE not reported.
What each review found
Include earlier review versions| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated floss) vs Toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse) Gingivitis (Gingival Index, 0-3 scale; SMD) · Dentate adults aged 16 years or older (excluding orthodontic patients and those with severe periodontal disease) · 3 months Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated… led to lower gingivitis (Gingival Index, 0-3 scale; SMD) compared with toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse); GRADE not reported. Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults (2011) · Cochrane All outcomes | SMD -0.41 [-0.68, -0.14] | 6 studies · 656 participants | GRADE not reported |
Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated floss) vs Toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse) Gingivitis (Loe-Silness/bleeding indices; SMD) · Dentate adults aged 16 years or older (excluding orthodontic patients and those with severe periodontal disease) · 1 month It is very uncertain whether flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated… changes gingivitis (Loe-Silness/bleeding indices; SMD) compared with toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse) (very low certainty). Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults (2011) · Cochrane All outcomes | SMD -0.36 [-0.66, -0.05] | 7 studies · 489 participants | Very low |
Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated floss) vs Toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse) Gingivitis (Gingival Index, 0-3 scale; SMD) · Dentate adults aged 16 years or older (excluding orthodontic patients and those with severe periodontal disease) · 6 months Flossing plus toothbrushing (self-performed; manual or automated… led to lower gingivitis (Gingival Index, 0-3 scale; SMD) compared with toothbrushing alone (with or without a negative-control/placebo rinse); GRADE not reported. Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults (2011) · Cochrane All outcomes | SMD -0.72 [-1.09, -0.35] | 4 studies · 564 participants | GRADE not reported |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults 2011 · Cochrane All outcomes | 2011-10 | Not listed | Not assessed |
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.