Efficacy of a newly formulated foam on gingival inflammation: a pilot study

• Main Author: Vajrapu, Priya Gupta
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Dentistry
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/24020

Periodontal disease, gingivitis and periodontitis are conditions that are a result of local response to supragingival dental plaque that forms due to poor personal oral hygiene. This is initiated by accumulation of bacterial biofilm on the teeth that leads to inflammatory changes in the gingival tissue. The pathogenesis of periodontitis has a multi-level architecture, composed of bacterial composition, environmental and genetic factors. Disruption of the oral biofilm by mechanical methods is one of the best alternatives for preventing periodontal disease. The present intervention study aimed at decreasing the gingival inflammation in 36 patients with gingivitis or mild to moderate periodontitis by administration of a new dental product composed of antioxidants (dental foam). This study was conducted as a proof-of-concept study over 42 days and aimed to observe the earliest changes in gingival inflammation as measured by gingival index and bleeding on probing. Clinical periodontal parameters including gingival index, bleeding on probing, plaque index and probing pocket depth were assessed at baseline, and 14, 28 and 42 days after baseline. Subjects in both treatment (n=24) and control (n=12) groups were given standard oral hygiene instructions including brushing with a standard toothbrush (Oral B® Pro health medium) and standard toothpaste (GLO Science Toothpaste) twice a day. Subjects in test group used the dental foam in addition to the standard toothpaste twice a day, while control group subjects did not use any additional product. The statistical analyses were performed to compare the mean changes from baseline to each post baseline time points using Student’s t-test. All statistical tests were conducted at p< 0.05 level of significance. There was a statistically significant reduction in the primary endpoints, gingival index (p=0.003) and bleeding on probing (p=0.007) in the test group when compared to the control group over 42 days. There were no statistically significant differences in the secondary outcomes, plaque index (p=0.07) and pocket depth (p= 0.12) between two groups. Oral hygiene care including mechanical plaque removal with standard tooth brushing in combination with application of newly developed dental product (dental foam) has shown significant reduction in gingival inflammation when compared to standard tooth brushing alone and reveals beneficial effects in patients with gingivitis and mild to moderate periodontitis.