A Prospective Experimental Comparative Study on the Clinical Effects of Calculus Dissolution based Oral Rinse in Gingivitis Patients

Aim: The present study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of calculus/tartar dissolution based oral rinse as an adjunct to toothbrushing in gingivitis patients for long-term effects on new supragingival calculus formation. Materials and methods: After undergoing a dental prophylaxis, 60 gingivitis subjects with a moderate rate of calculus formation were stratified and randomly assigned to one of two groups: Control group (regular dentifrice alone) and experimental group (using a regular dentifrice and a calculus/tartar control mouthrinse). Subjects brushed and rinsed twice daily, unsupervised, for 6 months. All subjects were assessed with gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI) and calculus levels using the Volpe-Manhold Index (VMI) after 3 and 6 months. Results: Statistical analysis found that the experimental group (which used a calculus/tartar contain mouthrinse) demonstrated statistically significantly lower VMI scores (p = 0.001) than control group (which used a regular dentifrice alone). In experiment test group A, there was decline in VMI score from 3 to 6 months by 23.12% as compared to group B where there was continuous increase in VMI scores from 3 to 6 months by 22.16%. Conclusion: A mouthrinse containing tetrapotassium pyrophosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate as the anticalculus agent provides a clinically relevant reduction in calculus formation in subjects with a moderate rate of such formation.