Effect of chlorhexidine mouthrinse on cathepsin C activity in human saliva.

UNLABELLED Chlorhexidine is an active agent commonly used against dental plaque in the mouth apart from fluorides applied to prevent caries. It is contained in toothpastes and mouthrinses. PURPOSE The aim of the study was to assess the effect of mouthrinses containing chlorhexidine digluconate on the activity of cathepsin C in human saliva. MATERIAL AND METHODS Material for analyses contained mixed saliva samples collected at rest, directly into test tubes (Z PS type, Medlab) at least 2 hours after meal from 40 subjects (dentistry students; 30 women and 10 men), aged 19-24. Saliva was collected before the preparations were applied after rinsing the mouth with distilled water and following a single use of the preparations according to the producer's instructions, 8 samples for each preparation. RESULTS The decrease of cathepsin C was observed for each preparation, but was the greatest after mouth rinsing with Kin Gingival (65.08%) and Corsodyl (58.00%). CONCLUSIONS The current study confirms this assumption by finding a decrease in cathepsin C activity after the use of chlorhexidine mouth rinses.