Antiplaque/antigingivitis efficacy and safety of a cetylpyridinium chloride/zinc gluconate mucoadhesive gel. Results of a 6-month clinical trial.

This article presents the results of a controlled clinical trial evaluating a new at-home treatment to improve gingival health. Designed for overnight application at the gingival margins and in the interproximal spaces, the product is a mucoadhesive gel containing 0.10% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and 0.592% zinc gluconate (ZG). The authors assessed the efficacy and safety of the CPC/ZG gel in adults with low-to-moderate gingival and plaque index scores by comparing clinical and laboratory findings for subjects using the CPC/ZG gel with those for subjects using the control gel (0% CPC and 0.592% ZG). Clinical findings at 3 and 6 months showed statistically significant improvements in two of the three major indices of gingival health in the CPC/ZG group compared with the control group. The performance of the treatment gel was supported by results of microbial analyses of plaque samples.