Anti-Plaque Efficacy of Chlorhexidine Mouthrinses With and without Alcohol

Chlorhexidine (CHX) is recognized as the most effective agent in plaque control. Some of these mouth rinses contain alcohol، making them impractical for many patients due to oral mucosal hypersensitivity. Although fewer side effects may be seen in alcohol free mouth rinses، they may turn out to be less efficient in terms of anti-plaque activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a 0. 12% chlorhexidine mouthrinse with and without alcohol compared to 0. 2% alcohol containing CHX. Sixteen volunteers participated in this randomized clinical، single blind، cross over study to assess the anti-plaque efficacy of 0-2%CHX mouth rinse containing alcohol compared to two 0. 12% CHX mouth rinses with and without alcohol and normal saline (negative control). After oral prophylaxis، subjects were asked to abstain from all forms of oral hygiene measures and wash their mouth only with allocated mouthrinses twice a day for four days. Between each period of mouthrinsing a 10-day washout period was scheduled.. Data was collected and analyzed using Kruskall-Wallis and Fischer exact tests. All three mouthrinses demonstrated statistically significant reduction in plaque score compared to normal saline (P<0. 001). However، no significant difference was found in efficacy of alcohol-free and alcohol containing mouth rinses (P< 0. 02) It seems using 0. 12% CHX without alcohol has similar anti-plaque effects compared to alcohol containing CHX and may be prescribed in hypersensitive patients.