Antiplaque and Antigingivitis effect of a Dentifrice containing Bioactive Glass particulate-A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Maintenance of gingival health is critical in preventing gingivitis and its progression into periodontal disease. Bioactive glass has recently been formulated into a dentifrice and has demonstrated strong antimicrobial property. Objectives: The objective of this clinical trial was to evaluate the antigingivitis and antiplaque effect of a dentifrice containing bioactive glass compared with a placebo control dentifrice in a four weeks clinical study. Methodology:  The Study design was a randomized triple blind parallel clinical trial. Sixty volunteers took part in the study and were matched for age and gender. Plaque index (Turesky et al modified Quigley Hein index, 1970) and Gingival bleeding index (Ainamo and Bay, 1975) was recorded at baseline for all selected subjects. Following the baseline assessments, all subjects received a supragingival prophylaxis and polishing to remove plaque, calculus and extrinsic stain. After prophylaxis the plaque levels were brought to uniform levels, ideally close to zero, which was assessed by plaque index. After which the subjects were instructed on the proper brushing technique with their assigned dentifrice and toothbrush. Gingiva and plaque was evaluated at the end of 4 weeks using same indices. Results: A total of 60 subjects completed the study. Total number of participant (n) = 60 males (n) =50 females (n) =10. The results showed that the PLI (baseline 1.12, 4 weeks 0.65) and GBI (baseline 0.16, 4 weeks 0.08) were significantly reduced, respectively, over the 4 weeks period in the test group (p<0.001 for each measure). There was a 50% reduction in gingival bleeding and a 40%reduction in plaque growth. There was no difference of the PLI (baseline 1.34, 4 weeks 1.30) and GBI (baseline 0.13, 4 week 0.15) over the 4 week period in the control group. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the dentifrice containing Bioactive glass significantly improves gingival health as measured by a reduction in gingival bleeding and reduction in supragingival plaque compared with Placebo dentifrice over the 4 weeks study period.   KEYWORDS:  Anti-gingivitis, Anti-plaque, Bioactive glass, Dentifrice