Colgate laboratory tests recently showed toothpastes containing zinc or stannous and mouthwash formulas with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) neutralize the virus that causes COVID-19 by 99.9 percent.
The testing is part of Colgate’s research program, which includes clinical studies of infected people to assess how effectively oral products reduce the amount of virus in the mouth, according to a press release. In the laboratory studies, Colgate Total and Meridol toothpastes neutralized 99.9% of the virus after two minutes of contact. Colgate Plax and Colgate Total mouthwashes had similar results after 30 seconds.
The studies were completed in October in partnership with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s (NJMS) Public Health Research Institute and Regional Biosafety Laboratories.
“Given that saliva can contain amounts of virus that are comparable to that found in the nose and throat, it seems likely that SARS-CoV-2 virus originating in the mouth contributes to disease transmission, especially in persons with asymptomatic COVID-19, who are not coughing,” said Dr. David Alland, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Center for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, who led the Rutgers NJMS study, according to the release. “This suggests that reducing virus in the mouth could help prevent transmission during the time that oral care products are active.”
Colgate also sponsored a clinical study that involved about 50 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 to demonstrate the ability of Colgate Total (with CPC and zinc), Colgate Peroxyl and Colgate PerioGard mouthwashes to substantially reduce the amount of the virus in the mouth temporarily. The researchers plan to share findings from this study in December.
More Colgate-backed clinical research studies on toothpaste and mouthwashes are in early stages at Rutgers, the Albert Einstein Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry. About 260 people with COVID-19 are participating in these studies.
“We’re at the early stages of our clinical investigations, but our preliminary laboratory and clinical results are very promising,” Colgate’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Maria Ryan said, according to the release. “While brushing and rinsing are not a treatment or a way to fully protect an individual from infection, they may help to reduce transmission and slow the spread of the virus, supplementing the benefit we get from wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing.”
View Full Press Release
Source: Colgate-Palmolive