title: A prospective clinical evaluation of the effects of chlorhexidine, warm saline mouth washes and microbial growth on intraoral sutures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Post operative care of sutured wound is important after surgery. Sutured wounds within the oral cavity are kept clean through frequent rinses with either normal saline, chlorhexidine mouth rinses, hydrogen peroxide diluted with saline, or fresh tap water.
  
  
  METHODS
  The patients were randomised into 3 groups (A, B and C). The container used had 34 chlorhexidine, 34 warm saline and 32 warm water mouth rinses. The latter served as control. All selected patients had scaling and polishing done preoperatively when needed. All participants in each group did not receive antibiotics but received analgesics (paracetamol 1 g 8 h for 5 days,).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 49 females and 51 males, in the age range between 18 and 50 years. Microorganisms were found to grow on sutures with streptococcus viridians predominating followed by staphylococcus epidermides. The effects of chlorhexidine, warm saline and warm tap water mouth washes were not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chlorhexidine, warm salt water and warm tap water averagely produced the same number of colony forming units of bacteria, which shows that the three different mouth washes are equally effective as post-operative mouth rinses after oral surgery.
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Unit, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, POBOX 3772, Zaria, Kaduna Nigeria.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fomete
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Saheeb
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Unit, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, POBOX 3772, Zaria, Kaduna Nigeria.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Obiadazie
keywords: Bacteria growth; Chlorhexidine; Suture; Warm saline