Clinical evaluation of the effect of a proteolytic enzyme mouthwash on plaque and gingivitis in young adults.

One hundred and thirty-one young adults were used in a controlled study to determine whether a proteolytic mouthwash produced from B. subtilis could help remove existing plaque, decrease the rate of plaque accumulation or reduce the clinical signs of gingivitis. These subjects were stratified by means of the Gingival Index and the Shaver-Schiff Plaque Index into severe or mild groups. These groups were further divided in a random fashion into treatment and placebo groups. The treatment group rinsed with a proteolytic mouthwash consisting mainly of neutral and alkaline proteases and amylase. A placebo mouthwash was used by the control group. The results of this investigation indicate that there is no statistically significant reduction either in existing plaque or in the rate of plaque accumulation when this proteolytic enzyme mouthwash is used. Furthermore, in the treatment group the degree of gingivitis as measured by the GI was not reduced.