The effects of an essential oil and an amine fluoride/stannous fluoride mouthrinse on supragingivalplaque regrowth

Background: The side effects of chlorhexidine (CHX) havestimulated the search for alternative antiplaque agents suchas amine fluoride/stannous fluoride (ASF) and essential oils(EO). The aim of the study was to investigate the plaqueinhibitingeffects of two commercially available mouthrinsescontaining ASF and EO, respectively.Methods: The study was an observer-masked, randomized,5 · 5 Latin square cross-over design, balanced for carryovereffects, involving 15 volunteers in a 4-day plaque regrowthmodel. A 0.12% CHX rinse and a saline solution served as positiveand negative controls, respectively. On day 1, subjectsreceived professional prophylaxis, suspended oral hygienemeasures, and commenced rinsing with their allocated rinses.On day 5, subjects were scored for disclosed plaque. The ASFrinse was tested at two dosages: 10 and 20 ml (ASF-10 andASF-20, respectively).Results: The ASF and EO rinses showed a significant inhibitionof plaque regrowth compared to saline (P <0.0001), butthe lowest plaque indices were obtained with the CHX product(P <0.01). There were no significant differences among productscontaining ASF-10, ASF-20, and EO (P >0.05). Therewas no correlation between the occurrence of side effectsand the use of a particular rinse product (P >0.2).Conclusions: ASF and EO mouthrinses exerted effectiveand similar plaque inhibition. The two dosages tested forASF did not differ in plaque reduction. These findings, togetherwith those from long-term trials, suggest that ASF and EOrinses may represent effective alternatives to CHX rinse asadjuncts to oral hygiene.