Antibacterial Toothpaste and Tongue Scraping Eliminate Halitosis

The stigma and embarrassment associated with chronic bad breath, or halitosis, can be sufficient to turn sufferers into near-hermits. One in four adults has halitosis, statistics show, and the percentage may be as high as 50 percent in older adults.

A study conducted by dental researchers at the University at Buffalo has confirmed that brushing twice a day with toothpaste containing a bactericide and using a toothbrush with a tongue cleaner can eliminate halitosis, easing social strain and protecting teeth and gums in the process.

Results of the study were presented last week at the 2008 American Association for Dental Research in Dallas, Texas.

"All 14 subjects enrolled in this clinical study, all of whom had halitosis when they entered, had eliminated their halitosis at the end of the 28-day intervention," said Peter Moses, a dental student in the UB School of Dental Medicine and first author on the study.

"The fear of halitosis, known as halitophobia, sometimes is so great that up to 25 percent of people claiming to have halitosis actually don't," he said. "Halitophobia is associated with obsessive compulsive disorders and even has resulted in suicide, so there is a need for effective treatments for this condition."

The toothpaste used in the study contained triclosan, an antibacterial agent used in acne medications, hand soaps, detergents and deodorants. At the beginning of the study, participants were tested for halitosis and the presence of halitosis-causing oral bacteria using standard methods. The researchers collected tongue scrapings from study participants when they entered the study and at the end of the intervention. The tongue scrapings were analyzed for the presence of 20 bacterial species associated with halitosis.

Participants were instructed to brush twice a day with the triclosan toothpaste and to use a tongue cleaner throughout the trial.

At the end of the 28-day trial, results showed that mouth air levels of odiferous sulfur-containing compounds dropped from an average score of slightly more than 400 parts-per-billion at baseline to an average of 100 parts-per-billion at the end of the study. Analysis of the microbial samples showed significant decreases in numbers of halitosis-causing bacteria after 28 days.

"All participants eliminated their halitosis after using this triclosan-containing toothpaste and a tongue cleaner," said Moses.

Also contributing to the research from UB were Betsey Clark, a dental student; Violet I. Haraszthy, D.D.S., Ph.D., UB associate professor of restorative dentistry; and Joseph J. Zambon, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor of periodontology and oral biology and associate dean for academic affairs in the UB dental school.

Source: University at Buffalo

   

• nda - Apr 07, 2008
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  Is 100 parts per billion a non-detectable level of odiferous sulfur-containing compounds?
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• nda - Apr 07, 2008
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  Is there a way to read this paper online?
  
  How does someone get in touch with these researchers?
  
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• superhuman - Apr 07, 2008
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  Google their names and you should be able to reach their place of work and probably locate their emails. Or google the article title and buy it if its available and there should also be an email for contacting them.
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• Graeme - Apr 07, 2008
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  >Is 100 parts per billion a non-detectable level of odiferous sulfur-containing compounds?
  
  No its more like 4.7 ppb for hydrogen sulfide
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• nda - Apr 08, 2008
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  Thanks Graeme for identifying the 4.7ppb level.
  
  So I wonder if Mr. Moses is overstating when reporting that "all participants eliminated their halitosis..." if there is still a 20x higher-than-undetectable level of these compounds in the mouth?
  
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• superhuman - Apr 08, 2008
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  Here in this link to news report from University of Buffalo, there is contact information there
  http://www.buffal...ews/9290
  Here also:
  http://www.buffal...act.html
  Dental Medicine, School of Lois Baker ljbaker@buffalo.edu 716-645-5000 ext. 1417
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• nda - Apr 09, 2008
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  Thanks. I asked Lois Baker for the paper. She told me it was only a poster presentation. There was no published paper.
  
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• prodent - Jul 10, 2009
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  We do a lot of breath odor research and in my opinion the sample group here was not selected correctly. First, there is no catch all solution, so this rate of efficacy is way too high. Second, we know from clinical trials that sometimes odor comes from the tonsils, the sinuses, and elsewhere in the oral cavity. Simple brushing and scraping can't possibly effect all of those sources of halitosis.
  
  Who funded this study I wonder? Seems like probably a toothpaste company (that maybe also makes toothbrushes).
  
  
  
  For more halitosis related research, check out some of our published papers at http://www.therabreath.com
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