Inhibition of plaque formation and plaque acidogenicity by zinc and chlorhexidine combinations.

Zinc ions and chlorhexidine (CH) were found to exhibit a synergistic inhibitory effect on in vitro growth of S. sobrinus OMZ 176 and of S. sanguis 10556. A clinical mouthrinsing experiment was performed in a group of 10 volunteers to assess the plaque-inhibiting capacity of this combination. Sucrose enhanced plaque accumulations were assessed (Plaque Index, Silness & Löe) after 4 days of twice daily mouthrinses with 10 ml aqueous solutions of either 10.0 mM zinc or 0.55 mM CH, or with a combination of zinc ions and CH, during which period no mechanical toothcleaning was performed. The Zn-CH combination showed improved inhibition properties compared to the individual agents. The effects on plaque acidogenicity of 8.0 mM zinc, 0.44 mM CH, and of zinc and CH in combination were also assessed in a test panel of five volunteers. The Zn-CH combination inhibited acid production by dental plaque significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) more than the individual agents 1 h 30 min after a single rinse.