Inhibition of dental plaque formation by mouthwash containing an endo-alpha-1, 3 glucanase.

: The effect of mouthrinsing with the purified endo-alpha-1, 3 glucanase (mutanase) from a Pseudomonas sp. strain on the formation of dental plaque was investigated. Twenty-two college students participated in the clinical trial. After the labial and lingual surfaces of the 12 front teeth had been subjected to a thorough prophylaxis, the participants were instructed to cease all active oral hygiene practices and to rinse their mouths with either the mutanase or placebo mouthwashes for one minute, up to four times daily, in all, eight times for three days. No restriction regarding meals was given during the experimental period. After a 5-day recess, a second experiment was performed using the same procedures, except the placebo and active mouthwashes were switched. The amount of dental plaque formed on the front teeth was scored according to the criteria of Quigley and Hein. Mean plaque scores were significantly lower for the mutanase (p less than 0.05-0.001) than for the placebo group. In the intraparticipant comparison, most plaque scores were also significantly reduced in general (p less than 0.05-0.0010) by rinsing with the mutanase mouthwash. These data indicate that mutanase is able to suppress the accumulation of dental plaque in humans.