Antimicrobial effectiveness of a highly concentrated chlorhexidine varnish treatment in teenagers with fixed orthodontic appliances.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the recolonization pattern of Mutans streptococci (ms) on densely colonized teeth with fixed orthodontic appliances after treatment with a highly concentrated (36%) chlorhexidine varnish.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Healthy subjects (n = 19) with fixed orthodontic appliances and high bacterial ms counts in saliva were recruited. In order to establish a baseline registration, plaque adjacent to brackets was sampled and cultivated on Dentocult strips. Following professional tooth cleaning, chlorhexidine varnish was applied on all teeth for 8 minutes. The degree of recolonization with ms was assessed 2 weeks after varnish application in plaque around the brackets. For statistical analysis, the data were subjected to a repeated measures design.

RESULTS

After 2 weeks, ms counts were reduced as compared to baseline values. However, the reduction only weakly met statistical significance (P = .049).

CONCLUSIONS

The application of a highly concentrated chlorhexidine varnish in patients with fixed orthodontic appliances does not result in a distinct reduction of ms numbers 2 weeks after treatment.