Method: The MGI scores the gingiva on a scale of 0-4 (absence to severe inflammation). During categorization, the index was split into two categories: scores 0 or 1 (generally healthy, very mild to no inflammation) and >=2 (mild to severe inflammation). For each treatment at a timepoint, the percent of subjects scored ‘healthy’ was plotted by site and the incidence of ‘Health’ among the 108 sites, defined as the number of sites where a majority (>50%) of subjects scored healthy, was calculated. Data from 3 previous long-term studies were evaluated. The treatment groups assessed were Brushing Alone (B), Brushing and Flossing (BF) and Brushing, Flossing and rinsing with LISTERINE® Antiseptic (BFR).
Result: At baseline of Studies 1 and 2, none of the sites in the mouth were considered healthy for the majority of subjects. For study 3, 1% of the sites were healthy for the same criteria. End of treatment data from study 1 showed an improvement for the BFR group, with a 51% incidence of ‘health’, while the B and BF groups showed 1% and 14% incidence, respectively. The incidence of ‘health’ for study 2 was 20% for BFR, 1% for BF and 0% for B. Finally, study 3 showed an incidence of ‘health’ for BFR equal to 56%, compared to 1% for the B group.
Conclusion: The results of this analysis demonstrated that adding LISTERINE® Antiseptic to a routine of brushing and flossing contributes to a substantial improvement in gingival health.