The numerous species that make up the oral microbiome are now understood to play a key role in establishment and maintenance of oral health. The ability to taxonomically identify community members at the species level is important to elucidating its diversity and association to health and disease. We report the overall ecological effects of using a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins compared to a control toothpaste on the plaque microbiome. The results reported here demonstrate that a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins can augment natural salivary defences to promote an overall community shift resulting in an increase in bacteria associated with gum health and a concomitant decrease in those associated with periodontal disease. Statistical analysis shows significant increases in 12 taxa associated with gum health including Neisseria spp. and a significant decrease in 10 taxa associated with periodontal disease including Treponema spp. The results demonstrate that a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins can significantly shift the ecology of the oral microbiome (at species level) resulting in a community with a stronger association to health.

For any antibacterial/ anti‐plaque system from an oral care product to be effective, it must firstly be delivered and retained at relevant sites in the oral cavity and secondly, remain active within the chosen formulation to successfully target the biofilm cells within dental plaque. This must include inhibition of the growth and metabolism of relevant organisms associated with disease. This review will concentrate on understanding the environmental conditions in which such oral care products must work and summarise the activity within the oral cavity of the main antibacterial and anti‐plaque agents in common oral care products, namely chlorhexidine, essential oils, metal salts and Triclosan. Routes to further enhance the activity of these products, together with the use of relatively novel formats such as confectionery products to provide added consumer oral health benefits will be considered.

No abstract

No abstract

Objective:To test in vitro the anti-plaque/ antimicrobial efficacy of a new toothpaste formulation containing a 2% zinc citrate/ 0.3% Triclosan antimicrobial system compared with a 0.75% zinc citrate/ 0.3% Triclosan system and where appropriate, against controls of a standard fluoride paste and a 0.3% Triclosan/ 2% copolymer product. Methods: The anti-metabolic activity was assessed using a range of assays measuring the ability of the active systems to inhibit bacterial glycolysis. The antibacterial/ antiplaque activity was assessed in an in vitro multispecies biofilm assay. Results: Both zinc formulations were shown to have significantly superior activity at inhibiting glycolysis compared with the 0.3% Triclosan/ 2% copolymer formulation and the standard fluoride paste , particularly in reducing the pH drop after sugar challenge, the new formulation having the greatest activity. Likewise, in the antibacterial assay , both zinc formulations were found to have significantly superior activity over a standard fluoride paste and the 2% zinc citrate/ 0.3% Triclosan formulation was shown to be significantly better than 0.75% zinc citrate/ 0.3% Triclosan formulation . Conclusion : These data provide support for the enhanced performance of the 2% zinc citrate/ 0.3% Triclosan formulation .