Effects of mouthrinses containing essential oils and alcohol-free chlorhexidine on human plaque acidogenicity

The aim of this in vivo study was to evaluate the effect of two antimicrobial mouthrinses on dental plaque acidogenicity after a sucrose challenge. Twenty subjects, with a mean age of 59 years, participated in a double-blind intraindividual randomized study. Three mouthrinses were used in 16-day rinsing periods in addition to their regular mechanical oral hygiene: a solution with essential oils (EO), solution with alcohol-free chlorhexidine (CHX) and water (negative control). The three test periods were separated by 3-month washout periods. Changes in plaque acidogenicity were evaluated after a sucrose challenge at day 0 (baseline) and at day 17 of each mouthrinse period using the microtouch method. Both CHX and EO resulted at day 17 in statistically significant less attenuated pH falls compared to the water rinse. The CHX mouthrinse resulted in the least pronounced pH values compared with EO (ns) during the whole 30-min period. When calculated as area under the curve (AUC), significantly lower values (AUC(6.2) ) were found for CHX and EO at day 17 compared to day 0. A significant difference for AUC(6.2) between CHX and water was found at day 17. No statistically significant differences were found for any of the comparisons with AUC(5.7). The results from this study indicate that both the essential oils and the alcohol-free chlorhexidine reduced plaque acidogenicity after a sucrose challenge. Large interindividual variations were observed.