Essential oils in an antiplaque and antigingivitis dentifrice: a 6-month study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if a dentifrice formulated with the fixed combination of essential oils possessed antiplaque and antigingivitis properties.


METHODS
This study was a blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial. The 6-month study had clinical examinations at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The examinations consisted of three indices; a plaque index, the Modified Gingival Index and a bleeding index.


RESULTS
At 6 months, the essential oil-containing dentifrice group had statistically significantly (P < 0.001) lower whole-mouth and interproximal mean plaque index scores exhibiting mean reductions of 18.3% and 18.1% relative to the vehicle control. At 6 months, the essential oil-containing dentifrice group had statistically significantly (P < 0.001) lower whole-mouth and interproximal mean gingival index scores compared to the vehicle control with reductions of 16.2% and 15.5%, respectively. Finally, for the gingival bleeding index, the essential oil-containing dentifrice group had statistically significantly (P < 0.001) lower whole-mouth and interproximal mean bleeding index scores and reductions of 40.5% and 46.9% at 6 months compared to the vehicle control.
Coelho
J
J
The Warner-Lambert Consumer Healthcare Division of the Warner-Lambert Consumer Group of Pfizer, Morris Plains, NJ 07950, USA. john.coelho@wl.com
Kohut
B E
BE
Mankodi
S
S
Parikh
R
R
Wu
M M
MM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003802:Dentifrices / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000517:prevention & control; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018401:Sample Size; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014099:Toothbrushing
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D003802:Dentifrices; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles