Increased Calcium Uptake to Plaque After Use of Arginine Dentifrice

Method: Twenty-four panelists completed the randomized, single-blind, crossover study. Each dentifrice was used for 7 days, brushing 2x a day. To allow for plaque sampling at two different time points, 1hr and 12hrs, post-brushing, a split-mouth design was utilized.  Panelists brushed on one side of the mouth for 30s with their assigned product and swished contents to other side of mouth for 30s. 12hrs later plaque was collected. Following plaque collection, the same brushing/swishing procedure was used on the other side of the mouth , and 1hr later plaque was collected. Total calcium levels were determined after plaque samples underwent acid extraction using ICP-analysis. For the primary outcome (total plaque calcium levels), a two-factor ANCOVA with the subject and treatment as factors was used for the 1hr, 12hr, and delta (1hr–12hr) time points.  A difference between treatments was considered significant at p<0.05. 

Result: The 1.5% Arginine paste produced the highest changes in calcium over time, 0.64 nmol calcium/mg plaque. The placebo dentifrice and the negative control dentifrice had delta calcium values of 0.58 and -0.39 nmol calcium/mg plaque, respectively. The higher increases in level of calcium from the 1.5% Arginine dentifrice and the placebo dentifrice are statisticaliy significant when compared to the negative control.

Conclusion: The results from this study demonstrate that using the 1.5% Arginine dentifrice, containing an insoluble calcium compound and 1450 ppm fluoride, results in statistically significant increases in total plaque calcium levels over time when compared to a silica dentifrice.