New Study Finds Liquid Toothpaste Much More Effective For Preventing Cavities

Current Issue of JADA Publishes Independent Research Showing that Liquid Form is 35% More Effective than Standard Toothpaste.

NEW YORK, NY July 29, 2004 -- The current issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), the nation's premier dental journal dedicated to publishing important oral health research, reports in the current issue [ 135(7): p.1023-29 ] that a team of international researchers found that liquid toothpaste is 35% more effective for preventing cavities that form between teeth. The significance of this report is that the liquid product was compared to a gold standard traditional toothpaste that had been previously thought to deliver the highest level of effectiveness for preventing cavities. This study concludes with a strong recommendation directed toward dental professional community to encourage their patients who are prone to cavities between teeth to switch to a liquid alternative.

Additionally, the importance is underscored by the first ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health that shows that dental disease, and specifically tooth decay, has a large socioeconomic impact on American society. It is also a leading cause of pain and suffering in the general population and many published studies have linked poor oral health to several more serious health conditions including heart disease and diabetes. The Surgeon General also reports that in parts of the United States and throughout the world, the number of people with untreated cavities is increasing at a surprising rate. This is because the number of communities with water fluoridation is declining and because of the decreasing economic resources available in many public and private sectors. As a result, toothpaste has become even more important in combating one of the world's most prevalent diseases. Therefore, a toothpaste with an increased efficacy of 35% over the current therapeutic standard could have a powerful impact on global dental and overall health.

A team of international independent researchers located in New York City and Brazil conducted the research. The experiment tested human subjects with limited access to fluoridated drinking water and who also suffered from a history of frequent tooth decay. The study introduces two forms of toothpaste (Liquid or Paste) and measures the amount of fluoride and other minerals that are then absorbed into enamel surfaces situated between teeth. They find that enamel exposed to the liquid toothpaste had a 13% higher fluoride uptake which ultimately resulted in surfaces that were 35% stronger compared to the similar tooth enamel exposed to traditional toothpaste.

The reason why liquid dentifrice works better than thicker, old-style toothpastes that have dominated the scene for the last 70 years, is because thinner fluids can more easily penetrate into narrow spaces. Thus liquid toothpaste works like fluoridated mouth rinses in that they can flow into areas that toothbrush bristles are too big to fit into, says Dr. Martin Giniger, President, Martin Giniger & Company and co-author of the study.

We have found without any question that liquid toothpaste formats outperform the old-fashioned pastes. Anyone who has ever watched how the toothpaste stands on top of the toothbrush can clearly see that the pastes are too thick to penetrate between the tiny spaces between the bristles. Even when diluted with water while brushing, toothpastes remain too gummy to really do an effective job. He also added that liquid products have different foaming properties that give it better plaque removal ability, especially in hard to reach areas that are more prone to cavities. He explained that if people simply switched to one of commercially available liquid alternatives, they would give their teeth an additional measure of protection.

The lead independent researchers responsible for this study are Milton Fernando De A. Silva, DDS, PhD of Brazil and Martin Giniger DMD, PhD of the United States. The study sponsors were also listed on the manuscript.

About Martin Giniger & Company
Dr. Martin Giniger, DMD, PhD, FICD, is the world's leading expert in over-the-counter dental products, including tooth-whitening gels, bleaching systems and toothpastes. He is a dentist with a Specialty Certificate in Oral Medicine, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and has held full-time management positions in the world's largest oral care companies and major universities. He has recently launched a new company dedicated to exclusively serving the oral care industry. He is known throughout the dental and oral pharmaceutical industries, and now works independently for leading consumer oral care companies including Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church & Dwight, Discus Dental among many others. He is currently dedicated to developing a central repository of information that would allow researchers, consumers and the media to access a searchable database of information containing the ingredients and benefits of every toothpaste available in the world.

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For more information contact:
Matt Spaid
http://www.liquidtoothpaste.com
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