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An evaluation of a pre‐scaling gel (SofScale™) on the ease of supragingival calculus removal
Author(s) -
Smith S. R.,
Foyle D. M.,
Daniels J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of clinical periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.456
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1600-051X
pISSN - 0303-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-051x.1994.tb01174.x
Subject(s) - calculus (dental) , dentistry , medicine , computer science , mathematics
SofScale™ is a pre‐scaling gel, containing disodium EDTA and sodium lauryl sulphate, which is claimed to soften calculus and therefore facilitate its removal. 31 subjects were treated in a double blind randomised placebo controlled split mouth study to evaluate this product. Test or placebo gels were applied to the lingual surfaces of the mandibular teeth for 4 min and the time taken to complete the removal of supragingival calculus recorded. The operator recorded on which side the calculus was considered easier to remove and the patient indicated how comfortable the scaling had been. The mean calculus index was 1.99 for the SofScale™ group and 1.97 for the placebo. The mean time taken to complete scaling was 5.31 min for both groups. Using the Student Mest, there were no statistically significant differences ( p >0.7) between either the calculus index or time taken to complete the scaling between the groups. The operator did not consider SofScale™ to facilitate calculus removal and patients did not find calculus removal more comfortable when SofScale™ had been used. There was no increased sensitivity in the SofScale™ group following scaling. The results of this study do not support the use of SofScale™ as an adjunct to scaling.