Dash of antibacterial agent turns toothpastes into super teeth protectors

A new study has found that using fluoride toothpaste containing triclosan, an antibacterial agent, and a copolymer, which helps prevent the triclosan from being washed away by saliva, regularly helps reduce plaque, gingivitis, and bleeding gums and slightly reduces tooth decay compared to fluoride toothpaste without those ingredients.

Co-author of the study, Philip Riley, from the University of Manchester in England, said that adding triclosan and copolymer to a fluoride toothpaste will lead to additional benefits, in terms of less plaque, inflammation, bleeding, and tooth decay.

A team from the Cochrane Oral Health Group reviewed 30 published studies of toothpastes containing triclosan and copolymer.

Their analysis of the combined data found a 22 percent reduction in plaque, a 22 percent reduction in gingivitis, a 48 percent reduction in bleeding gums, and a 5 percent reduction in tooth decay (cavities) compared to toothpaste with fluoride alone.

However, they did not find significant evidence that triclosan/copolymer toothpaste reduced the incidence of periodontis more than toothpaste without the combination. No adverse reactions to triclosan or the copolymer were reported.

The study was published in the Cochrane Library.