Anti-plaque effect of tempered 0.2% chlorhexidine rinse: an in vivo study.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this in vivo study was to compare the anti-plaque effect of warm and cold chlorhexidine gluconate irrigation on matured human plaque.


METHODS
In a split-mouth design, the antibacterial effect of 47 degrees C "warm" 0.2% chlorhexidine solution was compared with that of 18 degrees C "cold" rinse at the same concentration on newly-formed supragingival plaque that had been left undisturbed for 72 h. Before and 1 h after a 1-min rinse procedure, plaque was sampled from 10 test persons and vitality determined using vital fluorescence technique.


RESULTS
Cold and warm 0.2% chlorhexidine solution reduced plaque vitality significantly from 99.63% to 77.81% (p=0.014) and from 98.98% to 51.77% (p<0.001), respectively. Rinsing with warm chlorhexidine solution reduced plaque vitality to a significantly greater degree (p=0.003) than did cold chlorhexidine.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, warm 0.2% chlorhexidine rinse showed a significantly more intensive anti-plaque effect than cold chlorhexidine solution at the same concentration.
König
Jörgen
J
Department of Periodontology, Dental School, University of Kiel, Germany.
Storcks
Volker
V
Kocher
Thomas
T
Bössmann
Klaus
K
Plagmann
Hans-Christian
HC
D000328:Adult; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009067:Mouthwashes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013696:Temperature
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D009067:Mouthwashes; C010882:chlorhexidine gluconate; D002710:Chlorhexidine