Gingival Microcirculation Response to Tooth Brushing Measured by Laser Doppler Flowmetry

Abstract

This study quantified changes in blood flow following tooth brushing, using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Twenty subjects had polysiloxane stents fabricated with openings to permit placement of the LDF probe on the mesial papillae of 6 teeth. Probing depth, plaque index, and gingival index were recorded and subjects instructed in brushing. LDF initially recorded a 30 second baseline blood flow. The stent was removed and subjects brushed the site for either 3 or 10 seconds. The stent was repositioned and recordings again taken, followed by a control reading. The process was repeated 4 weeks later. Correlations between baseline and control readings were 0.585 (P < 0.001) at the first visit, and 0.654 (P < 0.001) at the return visit. The mean control blood flow was 156.4 perfusion units. The 3 and 10 second brushing increased the mean value 22.6 units and 21.2 units respectively (both P < 0.001). Tooth brushing for both 3 and 10 seconds significantly increased gingival blood flow in the papillary gingiva of healthy individuals.

Assessment of heat provocation tests on the human gingiva: the effect of periodontal disease and smoking

“…One possible explanation for conflicting results is variations in gingival blood flow as a function of time and the location of the laser Doppler probe. Temporal variation related to biological variation may be influenced by many physiological factors in addition to the inflammation, such as circadian rhythm (54), blood pressure (50), temperature (20) or tooth brushing (11,45,55). Furthermore, although no data are available about the effects of disinfectant mouth rinses, eating and drinking on GBF they may also influence the recordings.…”

Arachidonic Acid–Induced COX-1 and COX-2–Mediated Vasodilation in Rat Gingival Arterioles In Vivo

“…It is well known that gingival microcirculation plays a crucial role in maintaining health care of the oral cavity [1,3,25]. Recently, it has become clear that the dysfunction of gingival microcirculation in humans contributes to periodontitis [12].…”

“…The superfusion of AA, beraprost-Na (an analogue of PGI 2 ) or PGE 2 onto the gingiva significantly dilated the arterioles dose-dependently. The AALocal gingival blood flow plays a crucial role in maintaining dental health care in physiological conditions [1][2][3]. For evaluating local blood flow in the gingival tissues in vivo, laser-doppler and ultrasonic flowmetry have been used on animals and humans [4][5][6][7], but they are both disadvantageous for evaluating continuous changes in the diameter of gingival microvessels in vivo.…”

Toothbrushing promotes gingival fibroblast proliferation more effectively than removal of dental plaque

“…The effects of toothbrushing include promotion of keratinization of the oral epithelium (Orban 1930, Mackenzie 1972) and sulcus epithelium (Caffesse et al. 1982), enhancement of capillary gingival circulation (Brill & Krasse 1959, Hanioka et al. 1993, Perry et al.…”