Could a special toothpaste replace the Dentist's scraper?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: Patients with a healthy but reduced periodontium undergoing a supportive periodontal care (SPC) program and/or patients with biofilm induced gingivitis, fulfilling the following criteria: 1. Aged 18 years and older; 2. Systemically healthy, following the criteria of American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA), type I or II; 3. Having at least 10 opposing teeth units with presence of at least three natural lower anterior teeth; 4. Presenting at least 1.5 mm of calculus width on the lingual surface of at least one mandibular anterior teeth (Volpe-Manhold index of at least 1.5 in the lingual side of at least one of the lower anterior teeth) ; 5. For patients in SPC, for at least 6 months, and the last tooth cleaning at least 3 months before, fulfilling the end point criteria of periodontal therapy \[no pockets ≥ 6 mm or \> 4 mm with bleeding on probing (BOP)\] . Localized pockets of 6 mm, without bleeding on probing, are allowed, except in the anterior-inferior sextant. 6. Agree to follow the study instructions, including adherence to study arm treatment, for the study timeline. Exclusion Criteria: Subjects will be excluded from participating in the study if: 1. Pregnancy: pregnant women at high risk of developing gum inflammation that usually occurs during pregnancy, which could introduce bias to the study; 2. Any physical handicap, psychological or health conditions that might jeopardize the ability of the patient to brush his/ her teeth, these complications may cause bias in the study. Smokers of 10 or more cigarettes per day will be excluded (Dietrich, Bernimoulin, \& Glynn, 2004); 3. Antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs taken within 1 month prior to the study, to avoid bias when assessing the gum health; 4. Currently using chlorhexidine or other antiseptic products, since these products can affect biofilm and calculus formation, therefore they can introduce bias in the assessment of calculus removal by our toothpaste; 5. Sensitivity to tartar-control toothpastes; 6. Unable to return for evaluations/study recalls, to avoid the significant loss in the number of participants.