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Cited by 111Oral microbiology and periodontitis researchDental Health and Care UtilizationGut microbiota and health

A randomised clinical study to determine the effect of a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins on plaque oral microbiome ecology

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Adams, S. E., Arnold, D., Murphy, B., Carroll, P., Green, A. K., Smith, A. M., Marsh, P. D., Chen, T. +2 more·2017·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/srep43344PMC PMC5327414
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Abstract

The numerous species that make up the oral microbiome are now understood to play a key role in establishment and maintenance of oral health. The ability to taxonomically identify community members at the species level is important to elucidating its diversity and association to health and disease. We report the overall ecological effects of using a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins compared to a control toothpaste on the plaque microbiome. The results reported here demonstrate that a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins can augment natural salivary defences to promote an overall community shift resulting in an increase in bacteria associated with gum health and a concomitant decrease in those associated with periodontal disease. Statistical analysis shows significant increases in 12 taxa associated with gum health including Neisseria spp. and a significant decrease in 10 taxa associated with periodontal disease including Treponema spp. The results demonstrate that a toothpaste containing enzymes and proteins can significantly shift the ecology of the oral microbiome (at species level) resulting in a community with a stronger association to health.

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  • The Zendium enzyme-containing dentifrice produces antimicrobial substances that improve the oral microbiome but do not impact calculus accumulation.

    “Unilever has performed a landmark study on the use of an enzyme-containing dentifrice (Zendium) that produces antimicrobial substances in the oral environment. These substances improve the quality of the oral microbiome, but do not impact calculus accumulation [9].”

    From A proof of principle investigation of a novel enzyme formulation on dental calculus deposition: a 4-week randomized human clinical trial (2024) · cites this paper as [9]

    The Abstract describes Zendium’s enzyme system as designed to generate antimicrobial substances, and the Discussion reports a positive shift toward a plaque microbiome associated with health. The Study Design describes assessment of microbiome composition, but our copy does not report a measurement or finding about calculus accumulation; that part of the claim is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These results prove the concept that oral ecology can be manipulated via the introduction of biochemical mediators.

    “These results prove an important concept, namely that oral ecology can be manipulated via the introduction of biochemical mediators.”

    From The oral microbiome: Role of key organisms and complex networks in oral health and disease (2021) · cites this paper as [34]

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. van’t Hof W., Veerman E. C., Nieuw Amerongen A. & Ligtenberg A. J. In Saliva: Secretion and Functions 40– 51 (Karger Publishers, 2014).
  2. Marsh P. D. & M. M. Oral Microbiology (Oxford, 1999).
  3. van’t Hof W., Veerman E. C., Nieuw Amerongen A. & Ligtenberg A. J. In Saliva: Secretion and Functions 30– 39 (Karger Publishers, 2014).
  4. Hothorn T., Buehlmann P., Dudoit S., Molinaro A. & Laan M. V. D. 355–373 (Survival Ensembles. Biostatistics, 2006). 16344280
  5. Fernstad S. J., Johansson J., Adams S., Shaw J. & Taylor D. In Biological Data Visualization (BioVis), 2011 IEEE Symposium on 127-134 (2011).

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Authors
Adams, S. E., Arnold, D., Murphy, B., Carroll, P., Green, A. K., Smith, A. M., Marsh, P. D., Chen, T., Marriott, R. E., & Brading, M. G.
Affiliations
  • Unilever (United Kingdom) (GB)
  • University of Leeds (GB)
  • The Forsyth Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Brading, M. G.
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-02-27
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
43344-43344
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/srep43344
PMC
PMC5327414
OpenAlex
W2591710564
Cited by
111
References
103
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 1
FWCI
19.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Medical Research Council (MR/K002279/1)
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (R37DE016937)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
Keywords
toothpaste, oral microbiota, dental plaque, enzymes, proteins, periodontal disease, Neisseria, Treponema, oral health, microbial community shifts
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Bacteria, Bacteroides, Dental Plaque, DNA, Bacterial, Enzymes, Female, Gingiva, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mouth, Oral Health, Oral Hygiene, Streptococcus, Toothpastes, Treponema, Bacterial Typing Techniques, Porphyromonas, Prevotella, Selenomonas, Fusobacteria, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Microbiota

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