Day-long reduction of oral malodor by a two-phase oil:water mouthrinse as compared to chlorhexidine and placebo rinses.

Few scientific investigations have addressed the ability of mouthrinses to reduce oral malodor for periods longer than 3 hours. In the present report, we have employed simple, recently described techniques to assess the day-long reduction in oral malodor of a novel 2-phase oil:water mouthrinse (TPM), as compared to a corresponding placebo rinse, and to a commercial 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthrinse. Sixty dental students were divided randomly into 3 groups, and instructed to use one of the rinses prior to bedtime and the following morning. Measurements carried out in the late afternoon, about 8 to 10 hours following rinsing, were compared with baseline measurements carried out in the late afternoon of the previous day. Volatile sulphide levels were measured using a portable industrial sulphide monitor. Microbial levels were estimated using a simple rinsing technique employing sterilized milk. These quantitative techniques were corroborated by organoleptic (hedonic) ratings of a single odor judge. Both TPM and chlorhexidine brought about significant decreases in volatile sulphides (P less than 0.05) as compared to the placebo group. These results were corroborated by the organoleptic data. Similarly, both chlorhexidine and TPM were highly effective in reducing microbial levels as measured by the rinsing technique, in comparison to the placebo group. Chlorhexidine appeared to be more effective than TPM in all measurement categories, although only in the case of microbial activity was there a significant (P less than 0.05) difference between the two groups.