Comparison of 2 commercially available chlorhexidine mouthrinses.

BACKGROUND

It has been shown that lowering the concentration of chlorhexidine (CHX) in mouthrinses from 0.2% to 0.12% does not adversely affect inhibition of plaque accumulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibition of plaque growth by 2 commercially available mouthrinses used according to the manufacturers' instructions, one with a 30-second and one with a 60-second rinsing time.

METHODS

The clinical investigation was a single-blind, randomized study involving 80 volunteers (40 female, 40 male; mean age 25.7 years). At the start of the trial, all participants received a dental prophylaxis to remove all plaque deposits. Subjects refrained from all mechanical oral hygiene procedures, but rinsed twice a day with the allocated CHX mouthrinse over a period of 72 hours. The chlorhexidine preparations compared were a 0.12% concentration used at a 15 ml dose for a rinsing time of 30 seconds and a 0.2% concentration used at a dose of 10 ml for 60 seconds. After 72 hours, the plaque index (PI) from all volunteers was recorded at 6 sites per tooth. All participants received a questionnaire to evaluate their perception of the mouthrinses.

RESULTS

After 72 hours, the 15 ml/30 second/0.12% CHX group had a mean whole mouth PI of 1.65 (SD 0.31) compared with a mean PI of 1.60 (SD 0.40) for the 10 ml/60 second/0.2% CHX group. The difference in plaque scores between the groups was not statistically significant. Results from the questionnaire showed no significant difference between the groups for taste perception, duration of taste, alteration in taste, or perceived plaque reduction; however, the panelists preferred the shorter rinsing time of 30 seconds and, for this parameter, the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.048).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this short-term study showed that there was no statistically significant difference between both commercially available CHX mouthrinses with respect to plaque inhibition, although both differed in concentration and rinsing time. The subject preference phase of the study indicated that the shorter rinsing time of 30 seconds was favored.