Researchers including a Colgate-Palmolive manager say their study demonstrates the benefit of triclosan-containing toothpaste over fluoride-only-products.

Published in the January/February issue of General Dentistry, the study compared the plaque- and gingivitis-reducing effects of a triclosan/copolymer formula ( Colgate Total ) with a stannous fluoride toothpaste ( Crest Pro-Health ) and a generic sodium fluoride toothpaste.

"Repetitive testing shows that toothpaste with triclosan/copolymer outperformed the fluoride-only toothpastes when it came to inhibiting the growth of bacteria," the researchers say in an April 20 release promoting their findings.

The research team, including Prem K. Sreenivasan, manager of Colgate's Advanced Technology Center, published the release a week after Rep. Ed Markey reasserted his request that FDA finalize the OTC Topical Antimicrobial Monograph to ban the use of triclosan in personal-care products based on safety and efficacy concerns.

In an April 12 release, Markey, D-Mass., also urged FDA to reevaluate its approval of Colgate Total (¹ 'The Tan Sheet' April 19, 2010).

FDA acknowledged concerns about triclosan's endocrine-disrupting potential in its response to Markey's letter sent at the start of the year.

"Substantially Greater Effect" With Triclosan

The research team, led by Violet I. Haraszthy, associate professor of restorative dentistry at the University of Buffalo, collected oral-care rinse samples from subjects at 30-, 60- and 120-second intervals to assess the antimicrobial effects of each dentifrice.

They also assessed the effects of each product on supragingival plaque.

According to Haraszthy and her colleagues, the triclosan/copolymer dentifrice, Colgate Total, demonstrated "substantial inhibition in the oral rinse samples over each treatment period (p < 0.0005)" as compared with either the fluoride or stannous fluoride, Crest Pro-Health, dentifrices.

"Colgate Total had a substantially greater effect on gram-negative pathogens, gram-positive organisms such as streptococci, oral yeasts such as candida albicans" and other bacteria, the researchers found.

They observed "no differences in antimicrobial effects between Crest Pro-Health and sodium fluoride."

The triclosan/copolymer dentifrice also was most effective at inhibiting micro-organisms in supragingival plaque biofilm (p < 0.0005), the researchers say.

In addition to bacteria kill, the study also looked at minimum inhibitory concentrations, or the lowest concentration of each formula necessary to inhibit growth of bacterial strains that cause cavities, periodontal disease and halitosis.

Colgate Total's MICs to kill bacteria ranged from less than 0.94 ug/mL to 30 ug/mL. By comparison, Crest Pro-Health's MICs ranged from 1.8 ug/mL to more than 150 ug/mL.

Additionally, the difference in MICs for Crest Pro-Health and Colgate Total "were four-fold" for gram-negative micro-organisms, or bacteria considered pathogens.

The researchers maintain that triclosan added to dentifrice products provides an additional cavity-fighting benefit.

The inclusion of a copolymer keeps triclosan in the mouth for a longer.

The investigators note that the human mouth harbors an estimated 800 to 1,000 different kinds of bacteria that can form a plaque film on teeth and lead to gingivitis and cavities.

- Eileen Francis

Colgate Answers Markey With Study Backing Triclosan Benefit In Toothpaste

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