Clinical and microbiological efficacy of an antimicrobial mouth rinse containing 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride in patients with gingivitis.

OBJECTIVES

the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the use of a mouth rinse and dentifrice with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in patients with gingivitis.

METHODS

the study was designed as a 1-month, double-blind, parallel, randomized clinical trial comparing a negative control regimen (minus active ingredients dentifrice and mouth rinse) with the test products (dentifrice and mouth rinse with 0.05% CPC) in terms of plaque and gingival indexes (PI, GI), patient-based and microbiological outcome variables. The comparisons in relation to the main outcome variables (PI and GI) were made by means of the t-test, either unpaired or paired for the intergroup and intragroup comparisons, respectively.

RESULTS

no differences were detected at baseline. Both groups showed statistically significant decreases in GI (0.17-0.19), without intergroup differences. The PI demonstrated a significant decrease of -0.12 in the test group and minor changes in the negative control group (increase of +0.01). Differences between groups showed a tendency towards statistical significance. A limited impact was observed for microbiological variables in both groups.

CONCLUSION

the results of this study show limited benefits of the evaluated formulations as adjuncts to unsupervised oral hygiene in reducing plaque accumulation, and no effect on gingivitis.