Stannous Fluoride Toothpaste Stabilized With Nitrate and Phosphates (SNaP) Reduces Oral Malodor: A Randomized Clinical Study.

Background: Oral malodor, whether from systemic disease, dietary sources, or bacteria in the oral cavity, can negatively impact patients' quality of life. Oral malodor due to bacteria in the oral cavity can be managed by mechanically or chemically removing bacteria. Dentifrices are ideal vehicles to deliver therapeutic active ingredients that promote and maintain oral health since most consumers brush their teeth daily. Consumer preference drives consistency in oral hygiene routine. This study first identified a favorite flavor via consumer flavor testing and then measured the clinical efficacy of the dentifrice with a new flavor formulation to reduce malodor.

Methods: Consumer testing was conducted via an online product evaluation questionnaire to gauge consumer flavor preferences for stannous fluoride toothpaste stabilized with nitrate and phosphates (SNaP). In a 3-week randomized, single-center, double-blind clinical study, the malodor reduction ability of SNaP was compared to the negative control toothpaste containing 0.76% sodium monofluorophosphate via the organoleptic method.

Results: Consumer testing was used to determine a winning flavor for the new flavor formulation of SNaP tested in the clinical study. In this study, after 3 weeks of product use, on average, malodor clinical trial subjects (n = 97) randomized into the SNaP group had a 32.7% malodor score reduction from baseline (P less than .001) 12 hours post-brushing compared to a 9.4% reduction in the negative control group. Relative to the negative control group, the SNaP group had a statistically significant reduction of 25.7% (P less than .001) in oral malodor via organoleptic scores.

Conclusions: SNaP toothpaste delivered superior malodor reduction 12 hours post-brushing when compared to a negative control toothpaste.

Practical implications: Incorporating therapeutic active ingredients like stannous fluoride into toothpaste is an effective way to deliver oral health benefits, such as caries prevention, reduction in gingivitis and dentin hypersensitivity, and protection against enamel erosion and bad breath.