Development of erosive gingival lesions after use of a home care technique

The use of a periodontal home care regime has been found to induce erosive gingival lesions in some individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine which of the chemical or physical components of the technique might be responsible for the changes observed. Ten normotensive subjects were assigned to two groups. Group I subjects used a dentifrice consisting either of sodium bicarbonate and 3% hydrogen peroxide or 3% hydrogen peroxide alone; the dentifrice was removed with a 5 M NaCl irrigating solution. Group II subjects used the same dentifrices as Group I subjects, but distilled water was used as irrigant instead of 5 M NaCl. Erosive lesions of gingiva developed in all six subjects in Group I using the soda-paste dentifrice and 5 M NaCl irrigant; however, no lesions were found in Group II subjects. The use of a saturated NaCl irrigating solution appears to be injurious to gingiva, possibly as a result of the markedly hypertonic solution dehydrating the epithelium.