Selective ecological modulation of multispecies subgingival biofilm by a non-alcoholic neovestitol–vestitol formulation

Objective To evaluate whether a non-alcoholic formulation containing neovestitol and vestitol modulates the development and microbial composition of a complex multispecies subgingival biofilm. Design A 33-species subgingival biofilm model was developed over seven days using the Calgary Biofilm Device. From day 3 onward, biofilms were exposed twice daily for 60 s to neovestitol–vestitol compounds incorporated into a poloxamer 407-based vehicle (CNV-PL407; 200–1600 µg/mL), vehicle control, or 0.12% chlorhexidine. On day 7, biofilm metabolic activity, biomass, and microbial composition were evaluated by tetrazolium chloride (TTC) assay and DNA–DNA hybridization. Results CNV-PL407 at 1600 µg/mL significantly reduced metabolic activity (~50%) and biomass compared with the vehicle control (p ≤ 0.05), although to a lesser extent than chlorhexidine (~90%). Unlike chlorhexidine, which broadly reduced counts across most evaluated species (31 of 33 species), CNV-PL407 selectively reduced dysbiosis-associated taxa, including Porphyromonas gingivalis , Tannerella forsythia , and Fusobacterium spp. (p ≤ 0.05), while preserving most health-associated species. Conclusions CNV-PL407 promoted selective ecological modulation of multispecies subgingival biofilms, impairing the recruitment of key periodontopathogens without extensive suppression of commensal species. These findings suggest that non-alcoholic neovestitol–vestitol delivery may represent a promising adjunctive strategy for periodontal biofilm control.