Periodontal disease has been shown to affect at least 70% of the adult population. The result of this infectious process is bone loss around teeth, and systemic health risks. The symptoms of this disease process are bad breath, bleeding gums, root exposure and loose teeth. What is not present is tooth pain. Without tooth pain most people assume the forgoing symptoms are normal or part of the aging process. To avoid the deleterious effects of infection in the gums one must brush and floss daily with proper technique. Adjuncts to brushing and flossing are present from dental office prescriptions to over-the-counter toothpastes and rinses.

Past prescription medicines that have bacterial killing abilities would leave stains on patient’s teeth. Now a new adjunct to scaling and rootplaning and to the daily brushing and flossing regime has emerged to help combat gingivitis, the precursor to periodontitis. This new product comes from the commonly performed dental procedure -teeth whitening. It turns out that the same properties that allow teeth whitening to occur on the enamel and dentin of our teeth will reduce the bacterial loads of our mouths; this antimicrobial effect can help prevent infections that allow bacteria to enter into our blood stream or brake down the bone around our teeth.

The teeth whitening and antimicrobial active ingredient is carbamide peroxide. Rockstar White has formulated a gel that has the active ingredient carbamide peroxide that allows nightly use of this gel with minimal to no gum or tooth sensitivity thanks to the addition of potassium nitrate and aloe vera. Our “Antimicrobial Periodontal Therapy” gel is designed to be used nightly, with tray delivery for 1-2 hours at bedtime. When used in combination with professional scaling and root planing or as a weekly maintenance adjunct, the use of our gel and tray system can increase the results of professional services, and increase the results of daily oral hygiene efforts.

(1) Lazarchik, DA; Haywood, VB: Use of tray-applied 10 percent carbamide peroxide gels for improving oral health in patients with special-care needs. J Am Dent Assoc. 2010 Jun;141(6):639-46.

(2) Farrell, S; Barker,M. et al.: Prevention of lingual calculus formation with daily use of 6% h2O2/2% pyrophosphate whitening strips. Journal of clinical Dentistry. 2009;20(3):75-8

Article Written By: Dr. Dennis Hunt