The research program conducted by Colgate shows that oral hygiene products have proved effective against the coronavirus in the mouth and hence delay the transmission into the body, providing more immunity against the disease. The zinc and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) that is present in toothpaste and mouthwash has proven its efficiency in neutralizing as much as 99.9% of virus that could potentially cause COVID-19.
Colgate- Palmolive Company is a solitary company that focuses on oral hygiene, personal hygiene, home cleaning, and pet nutrition. Their products are used and loved by more than 200 countries and territories. They own numerous health and hygiene brands such as Elmex, Hello, Speed Stick, Protex, Sanex, Filgora etc. The company manufactures products that are sustainable and beneficial to consumers with a sense of social responsibility.
The studies were conducted in partnership with Regional Biosafety Laboratories and Public Health Research Institute. The tests included several of Colgate’s products which showed varied results. Colgate Plax and Colgate PerioGard mouthwashes showed results after around 30 seconds after contact while the Colgate Total 12 toothpastes took two minutes to show results after getting in contact. According to these studies, the toothpastes and mouthwashes can slow down the spread of the SARS-CoV-2, which is the deadly virus causing COVID-19. This happens because they reduce the amount of virus in the mouth for a short period of time, hence decreasing the speed of spread.
The Chief Clinical Officer at Colgate elaborates, “We are in the early stages of our clinical research, and our preliminary laboratory and clinical results are very promising. While brushing and rinsing are not a treatment or a way to fully protect an individual from infection, they can help reduce transmission and slow the spread of the virus, complementing the benefit we get from wearing masks, social distance and washing frequent hand. Colgate is collaborating with a number of researchers worldwide to conduct clinical research to explore the potential of oral care products in reducing viral loads in the oral cavity as a risk reduction strategy. We believe that oral care plays an important role in combating the global pandemic, along with other preventive measures.”
Many institutions are showing great interest in the research that Colgate has been conducting. The Dean of Penn Dental Medicine at Pennsylvania said, “With this pandemic, the more we understand about the virus, the more effective we can be in fighting it. So, I’m excited to see the research program that Colgate has undertaken. We need to continue to take the care recommended by the healthcare authorities and, with these studies, we can demonstrate an additional way of transmission of the disease among people in close contact, especially in dental practice.”
Along with the laboratory study, a study was also conducted on patients detected with the COVID-19 disease at the Albert Einstein Institute located in São Paolo. This test was conducted on about 50 of the patients at the hospital of the institute. It was evident that the Colgate toothpaste and mouthwash could temporarily reduce the amount of virus in the patients’ mouths resulting in delay of transmission of the deadly virus.