A clinical assessment of the effectiveness of mouthwashes in comparison to toothbrushing in children.

ABSTRACT

The study compared the efficacy of unsupervised tooth-brushing done once a day before breakfast (phase 1), with twice daily mouthrinsing with the three different commercially available mouthwashes containing 0.2% sodium fluoride (phase 2), a combination of 0.03% triclosan and 0.05% sodium fluoride (phase 3), and 0.2% chlorhexidine (phase 4) in 20 children aged 13-14 year, in reducing dental plaque formation. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference in plaque reduction between phases 1 & 2; 1 & 3; 2 & 4 and 3 & 4. The mandibular arch harboured more plaque than the maxillary arch in phase 1 (p<0.05). Irrespective of the mouthwash used, the lingual/palatal surfaces had less plaque than the facial surfaces (p<0.05). The mean cumulative plaque scores of the mandibular lingual surfaces was more in comparison to the maxillary palatal surfaces in phases 1, 2 and 3 (p<0.05). It was therefore, concluded that 0.2% chlorhexidine was comparable to tooth brushing done once a day, before breakfast.