Efficacy of an Amine and Zinc Lactate - Containing Mouthrinse in the Home-based Treatment of Plaque-induced Gingivitis in Adolescents.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate if the adjunctive use of an amine and zinc lactate - containing mouthrinse may give significant benefits in the home-based treatment of plaque-induced gingivitis in adolescents. The study is based on the following hypothesis: the periodontal conditions of participants affected by gingivitis will significantly benefit from the implementation of the self-performed plaque control regimen (consisting of manual toothbrush and amine and zinc lactate toothpaste) with an amine and zinc lactate - containing mouthrinse. The benefit is expected to become manifest in terms of impact on clinical periodontal parameters, ecology of the subgingival environment, patient-reported outcomes and oral-health-related quality of life. In other words, gingivitis participants implementing their self-performed oral hygiene with the investigated mouthrinse are expected to assume a closer profile (based on the outcomes listed above) to periodontally healthy subjects when compared to gingivitis participants not using the investigated mouthrinse. One hundred fifty participants (100 adolescents with gingivitis and 50 periodontally healthy adolescents) will be selected for the study. Gingivitis patients will be asked to participate in 5 observation intervals: screening visit, study baseline, and 3 follow-up visits (3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months), while periodontally healthy controls will conclude their participation in the study within the baseline visit. According to the randomization list, at baseline gingivitis patients will receive one of the following home-based oral hygiene regimen: * test intervention (Gt group): manual toothbrush (meridol) and dental floss (meridol) associated with amine and zinc lactate - containing toothpaste (meridol Gum Protection) and amine and zinc lactate - containing mouthrinse (meridol Gum Protection); * control intervention (Gc group): manual toothbrush (meridol) and dental floss (meridol) associated with amine and zinc lactate - containing toothpaste (meridol Gum Protection); All periodontally healthy subjects will be assigned control intervention. At baseline, both gingivitis patients and periodontally healthy subjects will undergo: * assessment of clinical periodontal parameters; * subgingival plaque sampling for microbiological analysis; * assessment of patient-reported outcomes (including oral-health related quality of life) using dedicated questionnaires; Gingivitis subjects will repeat the assessments at 3-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up visit. The 6-month proportion of periodontally healthy participants in each gingivitis group (Gt and Gc) will be regarded as the primary outcome of the study. Changes in clinical parameters, subgingival microbial community profile, and scores related to patient-reported outcomes will be regarded as the secondary outcome measures.