Depending on its concentration, amino acid arginine toothpaste may reduce active caries in children better than dentifrices containing sodium fluoride, according to the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR).
A randomized clinical trial of 6,000 children ages 10 to 14 with two or more active caries lesions was conducted by researchers at Sichuan University in China between April 2019 and March 2022 to determine whether dentifrices with arginine offered better anticaries protection than those containing fluoride, according to an IADR press release dated August 12.
Dentifrices with either 8% arginine, 1.5% arginine, or 0.32% sodium fluoride were used on the children. Efficacy was based on incremental DMFS (decayed, missing, and filled surfaces) and DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) caries indices scores after using the products for two years.
After two years, the dentifrice containing 8% arginine showed a statistically significant 26% reduction in DMFS and approximately 25% in DMFT scores versus the preparation containing sodium fluoride, according to the press release.
However, there was no statistical difference in DMFS and DMFT scores between the 1.5% arginine-containing dentifrice and the one with sodium fluoride.
“This clinical study confirms that depending on the concentration, arginine dentifrices are as effective, or more effective, than a sodium fluoride dentifrice in providing anti-caries protection in children with active caries,” according to the press release.
