ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of supragingival oral irrigation either with water or different concentrations of chlorhexidine (CHX) digluconate as an adjunct to toothbrushing on plaque accumulation in chronic generalized gingivitis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients were randomly allocated into five groups. Group 1: toothbrushing alone, Group 2: toothbrushing with mouthwash, Group 3: toothbrushing with water irrigation, Group 4: toothbrushing with 0.0075% CHX digluconate (36 mg) supragingival irrigation, and Group 5: toothbrushing with 0.02% CHX digluconate (96 mg) supragingival irrigation. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive data were obtained for all outcome variables and reported as mean ± standard deviation. The Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied for the statistical evaluation of means and comparisons of proportions, and post hoc Bonferroni test was used for multiple comparisons after the application of the ANOVA test for comparison within the groups. RESULTS: When intergroup difference of the mean differences was compared for individuals using toothbrushing along with 0.0075% CHX digluconate irrigation and those using toothbrushing along with 0.02% CHX digluconate irrigation from BL-14, BL-28, and between 14 and 28 days, it was found to be statistically nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, the CHX digluconate concentration for mouthwash and oral irrigation in addition with toothbrushing was found to be same, i.e., <50 mg for improving the gingival health by reducing gingival inflammation.
