The Effects of a Novel Herbal Toothpaste on Salivary LDH

Objectives: Lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] is a critical intra-cellular enzyme responsible for anaerobic respiration in pyruvate metabolism which becomes detectable in extracellular spaces after cellular breakdown. This clinical study compared the effects after brushing with a novel herbal toothpaste incorporating zinc [test] to a control fluoride toothpaste on salivary LDH in conjunction with the assessments of dental plaque and gingivitis representing oral hygiene parameters.
Methods: This double-blind, two-cell study enrolled 70 adults [age range 20-59 years]. Subjects completed a washout and provided baseline saliva samples for LDH analysis and clinical assessments of dental plaque and gingivitis using the Turesky Modification of Quigley-Hein and Loe-Silness methods respectively. Subjects were randomly assigned to brush their teeth with either the test or control. Post-treatment sample collection and clinical evaluations were conducted after 3 week, 6 week and 12 week of brushing with all assessments conducted 12 h after hygiene. Statistical analyses were conducted independently for each parameter by t-test for within treatment evaluation and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for between-treatment comparisons.
Results: At baseline, treatment groups demonstrated no significant differences for LDH or dental plaque and gingival index scores. Brushing with the test demonstrated progressive reductions in salivary LDH, plaque and gingival index scores over the study duration in comparison to the control. The test demonstrated reductions in LDH of 9.5 – 15.4% over the study period in comparison to the control representing statistically significant effects (p<0.05). The test also demonstrated reductions in dental plaque that ranged between 6.4-16.2% over the study period and gingivitis reductions that ranged between 8.2-23.8% representing statistically significant results (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Brushing with a novel herbal toothpaste demonstrated significant reductions in salivary LDH representing improvements in cellular integrity with concurrent reductions in dental plaque and gingivitis as compared to the control dentifrice.