Long-term clinical evaluation of toothpaste and oral rinse containing sanguinaria extract in controlling plaque, gingival inflammation, and sulcular bleeding during orthodontic treatment.

A sanguinaria-containing toothpaste and oral rinse regimen was evaluated during a 6-month period to determine its effectiveness in controlling plaque, gingival inflammation, and sulcular bleeding. Oral hygiene instructions and a 1-month prestudy brushing period failed to produce a significant improvement in health among the 24 subjects as determined by the three evaluation parameters. After the oral hygiene period, the subjects were randomly assigned to the active treatment (marketed Viadent toothpaste and oral rinse) or the placebo treatment (same base formulas without sanguinaria). Treatments were evaluated using the Löe and Silness gingival index, the Silness and Löe plaque index, and the Mühlemann and Son sulcular bleeding index at baseline and monthly through 6 months. The sanguinaria regimen reduced plaque by 57%, gingival inflammation by 60%, and sulcular bleeding by 45% from baseline compared with placebo group reductions of 27% (plaque) and 21% (gingival inflammation), and an increase of 30% in bleeding index. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance with baseline scores used as covariates showed statistically significant differences at 6 months for plaque (active 0.39; placebo 0.68, p less than 0.01), gingival inflammation (active 0.32; placebo 0.76, p less than 0.001), and sulcular bleeding (active 0.34; placebo 0.70, p less than 0.002). Results of this study demonstrated that the combined use of the sanguinaria-containing toothpaste and oral rinse controls and reduces plaque and gingival inflammation in an orthodontic population.