Measuring early plaque formation clinically.

PURPOSE: To test a system of measuring early plaque formation (EPF) and its subgingival extension as related to the presence or absence of a plaque free zone (PFZ). MATERIALS AND METHODS: EPF was measured by three independent examiners following two consecutive 72-hour periods of undisturbed plaque build-up. One of the examiners further measured EPF following a 96-hour period in the presence of chlorhexidine or placebo. The classification system was composed of criterion 0 (plaque-free dental surface), criterion 1 (presence of plaque and PFZ) and criterion 2 (absence of PFZ, subgingival extension of plaque). Intra- and inter-examiner reliability were evaluated by means of the percentage of absolute agreement (c), Kappa (k) and Kendall (kd) coefficients. The third experiment consisted of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial. Plaque build-up in the presence of 0.12% chlorhexidine was assessed by employing the classification system described. RESULTS: The percentage of absolute intra- and inter-examiner agreement ranged from 85.43% to 75.63% and from 77.31% to 75.35% respectively. Chlorhexidine and placebo rinses showed similar percentages of criterion 1 surfaces, 62.6% and 51.5% respectively (p = 0.343). Of the surfaces, 44.3% showed criterion 2 after the use of placebo, while 3.4% of surfaces showed this criterion with the chlorhexidine (p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: The events associated with EPF can be appropriately scored with this classification system. Chlorhexidine rinses inhibit both the plaque colonization of the dental surfaces as well as its subgingival extension.