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January 11, 2003 COCHRANE OVERVIEW RELEASE  * POWER TOOTHBRUSH RELEASE  *  FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE RELEASE
January 21, 2003 COCHRANE CHALLENGES MANUFACTURERS : RELEASE  * STATEMENT
COVERAGE

COCHRANE OVERVIEW RELEASE
NEWS FROM THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Contact: Anita Harris US harriscom@attbi.com
                Luisa Fernandez, UK Luisa.fernandez@man.ac.uk 011-44-1612757818             

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (Updated January 23, 2003)

REVIEWS FIND CERTAIN POWER TOOTHBRUSHES, FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE WORK BEST: Independent dental product analyses among most comprehensive ever conducted

Boston, January 11, 2003---In two of the most comprehensive independent dental product reviews ever conducted, international researchers have established that rotational oscillation power toothbrushes and fluoride toothpastes are more effective than manual toothbrushes or non-fluoride toothpastes.

The review results were announced today by The Cochrane Collaboration, an independent, international, nonprofit organization at a conference sponsored by the Forsyth Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry (www.forsyth.org/ebd), in Boston.

Key findings, described in two accompanying releases, (available via links, above) were that:

  • Use of rotational oscillation powered toothbrushes (in which the brush head rotates in one direction and then the other) reduces plaque and gingivitis more than do manual or other powered toothbrushes.
  • In children under age 16, regular brushing with fluoridated toothpaste results in 24 percent fewer cavities than does brushing with non-fluoridated toothpaste.

The reviews were published in the January edition of The Cochrane Library, a regularly updated collection of high quality information on health care.

*

The Cochrane Collaboration (www.cochrane.org) is an international nonprofit organization whose goal is to help consumers and clinicians make well-informed decisions about healthcare by preparing, maintaining and promoting accessibility of systematic reviews on the effects of healthcare interventions. The Collaboration comprises some50 topic-based collaborative review groups and 8000 contributors in more than 70 countries around the world. The Cochrane Collaboration’s US headquarters are located at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island with branches in Boston and San Francisco. . The Cochrane Collaboration also has Centers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Africa, Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, and the UK.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: For copies of the reviews contact: harriscom@attbi.com or go to http://www.update-software.com/cochrane/abstract.htm