Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40794532›Full record

Trial reportJDR clinical and translational research2026

Arginine Dentifrices and Childhood Caries Prevention: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

W Yin, Z Zhou, R-Z Huang, G Sun, Y Zhong, Z Yang, Y Li, Y Zhang, P Zhang, D Hu and 8 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialClinical Trial, Phase IIIMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in JDR clinical and translational research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Oral hygiene agents at work: effects onFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

W YinSichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Z ZhouChongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
R-Z HuangXi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
G SunSichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Y ZhongSichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Z YangChongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Y LiChongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Y ZhangXi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
P ZhangXi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
D HuSichuan University, Chengdu, China.
L R MateoLRM Statistical Consulting (Mateo), West Orange, NJ, USA.
G GaoRutherfoord Consulting, Stirling, NJ, USA.
S LimKornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
A I IsmailKornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
J ZimmermanColgate-Palmolive Company, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
B Garcia-GodoyColgate-Palmolive Company, Piscataway, NJ, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-2224-2174
M RyanColgate-Palmolive Company, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Y-P ZhangColgate-Palmolive Company, Piscataway, NJ, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDental caries remains a significant oral health burden globally. Scientific evidence has demonstrated the dose-dependent anticaries action of fluoride; however, more effective, comprehensive, and alternative prevention strategies are required.

methodsA 2-y, phase 3, randomized controlled trial based on a double-blind, 3-arm, parallel-group design was conducted from April 15, 2019, through March 12, 2022 across 3 centers in China. Six thousand children aged 10 to 14 y with ≥2 active caries lesions were assigned 1 of 3 study dentifrices: 8.0% arginine, 1.5% arginine, and 0.32% sodium fluoride (NaF). The primary efficacy outcomes were incremental DMFS (decayed, missing, and filled surfaces) and DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) caries indices scores after 2 y of product use. The secondary efficacy outcomes were the incremental caries indices scores after 1 y and 6 mo of product use. Noninferiority was achieved if the 95% CI of the mean difference in scores was below the noninferiority margin of 0.2545 after 2 y, 1 y, and 6 mo of product use.

resultsAfter 2 y, the 8.0% arginine-containing dentifrice demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of 26.0% in DMFS scores (-0.16; 95% CI, -0.22 to -0.10; P < .001) and 25.3% in DMFT scores (-0.17; 95% CI, -0.24 to -0.11; P < .001) versus control. No statistical difference was measured between the 1.5% arginine-containing dentifrice and control in DMFS (-0.01; 95% CI, -0.07 to 0.05; P = .819) and DMFT (-0.01; 95% CI, -0.07 to 0.05; P = .739).

conclusionsDentifrice containing 8.0% arginine showed a statistically significant reduction in caries incidence versus the NaF control, while the 1.5% arginine dentifrice showed equivalence to the NaF control regarding caries reduction. This clinical study confirms that arginine dentifrices are effective alternatives to fluoride in providing anticaries protection.Knowledge Transfer Statement:This study demonstrates that arginine is an efficacious anticaries agent at the examined doses of 1.5% and 8%. Clinicians and consumers can consider this a new caries preventive agent providing choice to people seeking fluoride-free alternatives. Policy makers could leverage these findings to guide oral health initiatives and inform regulations on dentifrice composition, promoting broader access to effective caries prevention methods.

Indexed as

ArginineCariostatic AgentsDental CariesDentifricesAdolescentChildChinaDMF IndexDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleSodium FluorideTreatment OutcomeArginineCariostatic AgentsDentifricesSodium Fluoridecariostatic agentequivalence clinical trialfluorideoral healthpreventative dentistrytoothpastes

Identifiers

PMID40794532
PMCPMC12967385

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.