Comparative Evaluation of Effect of Chlorhexidine and Sodium Fluoride Mouthwashes on Plaque.

BACKGROUND Dental plaque, deposition of microorganisms embedded in extracellular matrix, initiates dental caries and periodontal diseases Thus, removal of dental plaque by mechanical or chemical means is the key intervention in prevention of dental caries and gingivitis. METHODS To compare the efficacy of chlorhexidine (0.2%) and sodium fluoride (0.05%) mouthwashes in reduction of plaque deposition, 75 children of age group 8-14 years were divided in three equal groups. Group A and group B were test groups for chlorhexidine and sodium fluoride respectively and group C was control group. The subjects were instructed to rinse the mouth with 10 ml of mouthwash for one minute twice daily for fifteen days. Amount of plaque was analyzed by Silness and Loe index at the beginning and end of the study period. Inter group and intra group comparisons were done to evaluate the efficacy of mouthwashes by using paired t test and Anova test. RESULTS There was significant reduction in plaque in both test groups (p= 0.000) whereas in control group, there was no significant reduction in amount of plaque (p=0.100) count. Efficacy of the both mouthwashes was statistically equal. CONCLUSIONS Sodium fluoride is as potent antimicrobial agent as chlorhexidine and would be better mouthwash due to its additional remineralization property for prevention of dental caries and gingivitis in children.