Chlorhexidine Alone and Chlorhexidine With Brushing Demonstrated No Difference in Plaque Reducing Effects: A 2‐Week Randomised Clinical Trial

Objective To compare the efficacy of 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthrinse alone and combined with brushing in controlling plaque and reducing gingivitis. Methods This study was a randomised clinical trial with an examiner‐blind, split‐mouth experiment. Thirty participants were scaled, polished and instructed on oral hygiene for 2 weeks before commencing a 14‐day non‐brushing split‐mouth trial. After 2 weeks, the participants teeth were polished, then randomly allocated to the right or left non‐brushing side groups and instructed to rinse with 0.12% CHX twice daily for 2 weeks. The evaluation of the plaque index and gingival index was performed by a blinded, calibrated investigator. Results Twenty‐seven subjects completed the study (right non‐brushing: n = 13/left non‐brushing: n = 14). The participants' characteristics were not significantly different between groups. After 2‐week rinsing with CHX, post‐treatment PI and GI were significantly lower compared to baseline on both the non‐brushing and brushing sides ( p < 0.000, 0.001, 0.007 and 0.001, respectively). GI reduction was significantly greater on the brushing sides (mean difference −0.220, 95% CI −0.476 to −0.036, p = 0.016), though PI reduction showed no significant difference between interventions (ΔPI: 1.23 vs. 1.01, mean difference −0.139, 95% CI −0.251 to −0.027, p = 0.091). Conclusion There was no difference in plaque inhibition when rinsing with CHX as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control compared with CHX alone in a split‐mouth design. Trial Registration Thai Clinical Trials Registry: TCTR20200312006