J Clin Periodontol 2000; 27: 883–888 Copyright C Munksgaard 2000 Printed in Denmark . All rights reserved ISSN 0303-6979 Thomas Kocher 1 , Hazem Sawaf 1 , Michael Warncke 2 and Resolution of interdental Alexander Welk 1 1 Abteilung Parodontologie in der Poliklinik für Zahnerhaltung, Parodontologie und inflammation with 2 different Kinderzahnheilkunde im Zentrum für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde, 17 487 Greifswald, 2 Colgate-Palmolive GmbH, Liebigstr. 2–20, 22113 Hamburg, Germany modes of plaque control Kocher T, Sawaf H, Warncke M, Welk A: Resolution of interdental inflammation with 2 different modes of plaque control. J Clin Periodontol 2000; 27: 883–888. C Munksgaard, 2000. Abstract Background, aims: The aim of the study was to assess the effect on existing plaque and gingivitis of an oral hygiene regimen which utilizes triclosan/copolymer and to compare it with a regimen which uses interdental cleaning devices to control the interdental inflammation. Method: For this investigation, 39 subjects were recruited. They were examined for plaque and gingivitis using the criteria of Turesky modification of the Quigley- Hein index and the papillary bleeding index. Plaque and gingivitis were only scored interdentally. Following the baseline examination, the subjects were ran- domly assigned into 2 groups. The control group used a dentifrice identical to the test dentifrice but without triclosan/copolymer; subjects in this group were taught to brush their teeth with the modified Bass technique and were instructed to additionally use appropriate interdental cleaning devices. The test group used a dentifrice containing triclosan/copolymer (Colgate Total). They were not in- structed to use interdental cleaning devices. Results: Both groups were re-examined after 4 weeks, and 4 and 7 months. In both groups, plaque and gingivitis levels were modestly reduced, more pro- Key words: antimicrobial; clinical trial; nounced in the anterior and less in the posterior teeth. gingivitis; plaque; Triclosan; interdental Conclusions: This investigation demonstrated that a dentifrice containing triclos- cleaning; floss; tooth pick an in combination with a copolymer can reduce plaque and gingival inflammation to levels comparable to regular interdental cleaning. Accepted for publication 3 January 2000 Bacterial plaque that forms on the sur- faces of the teeth is generally regarded to be the primary etiological factor in the onset of plaque-associated gingi- vitis. A number of studies have demon- strated that meticulous oral hygiene procedures can lead to a remission of gingivitis. Although most patients have been presented during preventive pro- grams with the fact that periodontal disease usually starts in interdental areas, and that therefore interdental cleaning is important in terms of pre- vention and treatment of periodontal disease, the effect of interdental tooth brushing in the average individual de- creases with study time because of gradually diminishing compliance, as interdental cleaning is a time consum- ing and tedious task (Frandsen 1985, Kinane 1998). Studies of the effect of motivation on oral hygiene suggest that improvements can be achieved, but these are not main- tained unless motivation is continu- ously reinforced (Axelsson & Lindhe 1981) to augment mechanical plaque control. It is generally accepted that antibacterial agents that control forma- tion of bacterial plaque will also control the development of plaque-associated gingivitis. A number of product forms are available to deliver anti-plaque agents, i.e., mouthrinses, dentifrices, aqueous gels. In recent studies, tooth- pastes containing triclosan in combi- nation with zinc salts or a copolymer have shown an anti-plaque and most interestingly anti-gingivitis effect (Sva- tun et al. 1987, 1989, Singh et al. 1989, Palomo et al. 1989, Garcia-Godoy et al. 1990). Lindhe et al. (1993) examined the effect of triclosan on existing gingi- vitis in comparison to a conventional toothpaste without the patient exerting an interdental plaque control. They found that the triclosan toothpaste re- duced pre-existing plaque and gingivitis above what can be accomplished by a traditional fluoride-containing tooth- paste. In these trials, the triclosan regi- men apparently retarded de novo plaque formation. It is therefore inter- esting to test the extent to which this