A double-blind clinical study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a
tartar-control
dentifrice containing 1%
sodium polyphosphate as
tartar control agent compared with
dentifrice A containing 5%
sodium pyrophosphate and a placebo
dentifrice. One hundred forty-eights who continued to have a degree of
calculus formation after using a regular
dentifrice containing no
tartar control agent for 1 month in the pretest, were stratified randomly on the basis of pretest,
calculus score, age and sex into 3 homogeneous groups. All subjects who received initial prophylaxis were provided the assigned
dentifrice and toothbrush. No instructions regarding frequency or method of
toothbrushing were allowed. Assessment of supragingival
calculus was made at 4 and 12 weeks using the
calculus scoring procedure proposed by Volpe et al. Side effects such as oral irritation, ablation of oral mucosa and discoloration of teeth caused by
dentifrices were also diagnosed after 12 weeks of use. The following results were obtained in this study. 1. The test
dentifrice had reduced (P less than 0.01) supra-gingival
calculus significantly more than
dentifrice A and the placebo at 12 weeks. 2. A significant reduction (P less than 0.01) was observed when
dentifrice A was compared with the placebo
dentifrice. 30.1% reduction was obtained using the test
dentifrice and 9.0% reduction using
dentifrice A when assessed in subjects who had a pretest VMI score of more than 6.0. 3. No side effects caused by the
dentifrice which contained
sodium polyphosphate were observed.