A clinical study to assess the breath protection efficacy of denture adhesive.

This randomized and controlled, examiner-blind, 3-period, crossover clinical trial was designed to determine the effect of an experimental denture adhesive, a marketed denture adhesive (European Fixodent( Fresh), or no denture adhesive on the breath odor of 37 adults wearing full maxillary and mandibular dentures. Breath quality was measured at baseline and at 3 and 6 hours after the start of each treatment period via monitoring of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) using a halimeter and second-person organoleptic grading. A 48-hour washout phase separated treatment periods. There were no statistically significant differences in VSCs between any of the treatment regimens over 6 hours. Both the denture adhesive treatments were superior in breath quality improvement in organoleptic scores compared to no denture adhesive at 3 and 6 hours (p=0.0001). This research demonstrates the ability of both an experimental and marketed denture adhesive to deliver superior second-person breath benefits relative to no adhesive. The results indicate that Fixodent denture adhesives provide the denture wearer with a noticeable improvement in breath.