Chlorhexidine Alone and Chlorhexidine With Brushing Demonstrated No Difference in Plaque Reducing Effects: A 2-Week...

To compare the efficacy of 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthrinse alone and combined with brushing in controlling plaque and reducing gingivitis.

This study was a randomised clinical trial with an examiner-blind, split-mouth experiment. Thirty participants were scaled, polished and instructed on oral hygiene for 2 weeks before commencing a 14-day non-brushing split-mouth trial. After 2 weeks, the participants teeth were polished, then randomly allocated to the right or left non-brushing side groups and instructed to rinse with 0.12% CHX twice daily for 2 weeks. The evaluation of the plaque index and gingival index was performed by a blinded, calibrated investigator.

Twenty-seven subjects completed the study (right non-brushing: n = 13/left non-brushing: n = 14). The participants' characteristics were not significantly different between groups. After 2-week rinsing with CHX, post-treatment PI and GI were significantly lower compared to baseline on both the non-brushing and brushing sides (p < 0.000, 0.001, 0.007 and 0.001, respectively). GI reduction was significantly greater on the brushing sides (mean difference -0.220, 95% CI -0.476 to -0.036, p = 0.016), though PI reduction showed no significant difference between interventions (ΔPI: 1.23 vs. 1.01, mean difference -0.139, 95% CI -0.251 to -0.027, p = 0.091).

There was no difference in plaque inhibition when rinsing with CHX as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control compared with CHX alone in a split-mouth design.

Thai Clinical Trials Registry: TCTR20200312006.