The effect of a number of commercial mouthrinses compared with toothpaste on plaque regrowth

Mouthwashes are frequently used as adjuncts to oral hygiene. However, for some products there is little supportive evidence that rinses provide greater benefits than plain water or additional benefits to the plaque inhibitory action provided by toothpaste. This study was a single blind, randomized, cross-over design in which 6 rinses were compared for inhibitory action against plaque regrowth. The formulations were a cetylpyridinium chloride rinse, a prebrushing detergent rinse, a peroxyborate rinse a toothpaste slurry rinse, a chlorhexidine rinse, and a saline rinse. From a zero baseline, plaque regrowth at day 5 was significantly reduced by chlorhexidine compared to peroxyborate; and, in turn, significantly reduced by peroxyborate compared to the other rinses. There were no significant differences between saline or a toothpaste slurry and the cetylpyridinium chloride or prebrushing rinse products. The findings would appear pertinent to the value of the respective rinses as adjuncts to oral hygiene.