Cetylpyridinium chloride-containing mouth rinses and plaque control

Medline and the Cochrane Central register of controlled trials were used to identify relevant reports.

Randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials were included if they were of >/= 4 weeks' duration, were conducted in people of >/= 18 years of age and in good general health, and used plaque/ bleeding/ gingivitis or pocket depth as outcome measures. Case reports, letters and narrative or historical reviews were excluded and only English language papers were considered.

Descriptive comparisons are presented for brushing only or for brushing and rinsing and, where appropriate, a meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model.

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and they showed a small but significant additional benefit of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) use.

The existing evidence supports the use of CPC-containing mouthrinses as adjuncts to either supervised or unsupervised oral hygiene as they provide a small but significant additional benefit in reducing plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation.