Efficacy of an Antibacterial Toothpaste and Patients' Satisfaction

In Vivo Evaluation of Antibacterial Toothpaste Efficiency and Patients' Satisfaction: a Double-blind Randomised Controlled Trial

The primary objective of this randomized controlled clinical trial (RCCT) will be to compare the efficacy in reducing the quantity of Streptococcus mutans (S. Mutans) in saliva of a recently introduced toothpaste compared to a commercially available toothpaste. The secondary outcomes will be to assess patients' impression of the toothpastes (in terms of taste, satisfaction etc.), and to investigate potential changes in dentin hypersensitivity, plaque formation and gingival inflammation.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Gingivitis; Caries
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Brushing

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • BO
    • Bologna, BO, Italy, 40125
      • DIBINEM

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 46 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with minimum 20 teeth;
2. Good oral hygiene level (gingival bleeding index not exceeding 20%)
3. Patients willing to participate in the study and able to sign an informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Tooth anomalies (amelogenesis imperfecta, dentinogenesis imperfecta etc.);
2. Intrinsic stain (fluorosis);
3. Caries lesions;
4. Advanced periodontal disease (probing >2, spontaneous gum bleeding, tooth mobility >1);
5. Smokers;
6. Use of orthodontic devices;
7. Use of antibiotics in the last 3 months;
8. Use of antibacterial mouth rinses in the last 3 months;
9. Potential allergies;
10. Drug and alcohol abuse;

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Recently introduced toothpaste; Brushing twice a day with a recently introduced toothpaste.	Other: Brushing; Brushing the teeth 2x a day for 4 weeks.
Active Comparator: Commercial toothpaste; Brushing twice a day with a commercially available toothpaste.	Other: Brushing; Brushing the teeth 2x a day for 4 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Bacterial Count of Streptococcus Mutans (S. Mutans)	Agar Mitis salivarius with tellurium and bacitracin (MSTB) will be used for S. mutans isolation. The 0.1 ml saliva sample will be diluted with 0.9 ml of sterile normal saline; next, decimal dilutions of saliva will be made up to 10-3. Each medium plate will be cultured from 0.1 ml of the previously diluted sample to 10-3; then, the sample will be uniformly spread on the agar plates. Finally, the plates will be sealed. They will be incubated for 48 hours at 37°C. The bacterial colonies will be observed under a stereo microscope and identified by morphology and color. The CFU will be multiplied by the number of times the sample was originally diluted and expressed as the number of colony forming units per millilitre (CFU/mL) of saliva.	4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Plaque Index	The plaque will be disclosed using a disclosing solution and recorded as follows: score 0 = absence of plaque; score 1 = separate flecks of plaque on the cervical margin; score 2 = a thin, continuous band of plaque [up to 1 mm] at the cervical margin of the tooth; score 3 = a band of plaque wider than 1 mm, but covering less than one-third of the tooth crown; score 4 = plaque covering at least one-third, but less than two-third of the crown of the tooth; score 5 = plaque covering 2/3-crown or more of the crown of the tooth.	4 weeks
Gingival Index	A North Carolina periodontal probe (Hu-Friedy, Chicago, IL, USA) will be used for determine gingival index according to the following scale: score 0 = absence of inflammation; score 1 = mild inflammation-slightly slight change in color and little change in texture; score 2 = moderate inflammation-moderate glazing, redness, edema, and hypertrophy; score 3 = severe inflammation-marked redness and hypertrophy.	4 weeks
Dentin Hypersensitivity	Patients with self-reported dentin hypersensitivity will be considered. A 1-s air blast from approximately 1 cm distance will be applied onto exposed dentine. The participant's response will be assessed using the 4-point Schiff Sensitivity Scale (from 0: participant does not respond, to 3: participant responds to stimulus, considers it painful, and requests discontinuation;	4 weeks
Tooth Colour	Participants' satisfaction before and after treatment will be recorded and the difference will be assessed. In order to obtain the data concerning patients' satisfaction with tooth color, a questionnaire containing aesthetic numeric visual-analogue scale ranging from 1 to 10 will be given to the subjects. 1 = "Not satisfied at all" and 10 = "Very satisfied"	4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Bologna
• Collaborators: Unilever R&D

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 15, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): July 15, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 27, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 3, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): October 6, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 29, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 9, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Periodontal Diseases; Mouth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Infections; Gingival Diseases; Gingivitis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2.2022.

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No