Randomized Trial of Plaque-Identifying Toothpaste: Decreasing Plaque and Inflammation

Randomized data are sparse about whether a plaque-identifying toothpaste reduces dental plaque and nonexistent for inflammation. Inflammation is intimately involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and is accurately measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a sensitive marker for cardiovascular disease. The hypotheses that Plaque HD (TJA Health LLC, Joliet, Ill), a plaque-identifying toothpaste, produces statistically significant reductions in dental plaque and hs-CRP were tested in this randomized trial.

Sixty-one apparently healthy subjects aged 19 to 44 years were assigned at random to this plaque-identifying (n = 31) or placebo toothpaste (n = 30) for 60 days. Changes from baseline to follow-up in dental plaque and hs-CRP were assessed.

In an intention-to-treat analysis, the plaque-identifying toothpaste reduced mean plaque score by 49%, compared with a 24% reduction in placebo (P = .001). In a prespecified subgroup analysis of 38 subjects with baseline levels >0.5 mg/L, the plaque-identifying toothpaste reduced hs-CRP by 29%, compared with a 25% increase in placebo toothpaste (P = .041).

This plaque-identifying toothpaste produced statistically significant reductions in dental plaque and hs-CRP. The observed reduction in dental plaque confirms and extends a previous observation. The observed reduction in inflammation supports the hypothesis of a reduction in risks of cardiovascular disease. The direct test of this hypothesis requires a large-scale randomized trial of sufficient size and duration designed a priori to do so. Such a finding would have major clinical and public health implications.