Whole mouth antimicrobial effects after oral hygiene: comparison of three dentifrice formulations

This study compared the antimicrobial effects of three commercial dentifrice formulations: sodium fluoride/triclosan/copolymer (TCN/C), stannous fluoride/sodium hexametaphosphate/zinc lactate (SnF(2)/SHMP) and sodium fluoride (NaF).

Thirty-five adults (15 men and 20 women; average age 33 years and pockets <5 mm) completed this double-blind, triple-crossover study. After washout, baseline samples from four sites, plaque, saliva, tongue and buccal mucosa, were collected and evaluated for six microbial types, anaerobes, Streptococci, Actinomyces, hydrogen-sulphide (H(2) S)-producing bacteria, Fusobacteria and Veillonella. A specific dentifrice was randomly assigned for twice-daily use for 13 days. On day 14, 12 h after brushing, samples were collected for microbiological evaluations. Alternate dentifrices followed this identical protocol.

For all four oral sites and six organisms evaluated in each site, the TCN/C demonstrated significant reductions (49-83%) as compared with the other treatments (p < 0.01). The SnF(2)/SHMP group showed significant reductions of 14-43% for 14 of 24 outcomes as compared with the NaF group (p < 0.01), with no differences in 10 outcomes.

The TCN/C dentifrice formulation consistently demonstrated significant reductions for a range of microorganisms in diverse oral sites in comparison with the NaF, or the SnF(2)/SHMP dentifrice formulations as seen 12 h after brushing.