A comparison of triclosan and stannous fluoride toothpastes for inhibition of plaque regrowth. A crossover study designed to assess carry over.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Triclosan, published as a randomized controlled trial.

There have been few comparisons of such products for their chemical plaque inhibitory action divorced from the indeterminate variable of toothbrushing.

This study was a randomised, single-blind, cross-over comparison of 4 products, in a 4-day plaque regrowth design, balanced for residual effects and involving 12 healthy dentate subjects.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 12 subjects taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, single-blind and crossover study.

The subjects were allocated by chance, so the Triclosan group and the comparison group should start out alike.

In this single-blind Triclosan study one party knew the assignments and the other did not.

Each person switched between Triclosan and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

What Was Measured

The test agents were a stannous fluoride toothpaste, a triclosan/copolymer toothpaste, a triclosan/zinc citrate toothpaste and water.

On day 5, plaque was scored by index.

The subject headings attached to it are Anti-Infective Agents, Local, Citric Acid, Dental Plaque, Fluorides, Gingivitis, Mouthwashes and Phosphates.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, single-blind and crossover study of Triclosan in 12 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 1997 (Journal of clinical periodontology), a journal based in United States.

More context: all human trials.