A scoping review on the effectiveness of mouth rinse against SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Although studies reporting the efficacy of mouth rinse against SARS-CoV-2 have been continuously published, it is chal-lenging to select literature through qualitative meta-synthesis or quality assessment of the study. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review the efficacy of mouth rinse against SARS-CoV-2 using the scoping review method and to provide the latest information. Literature search on electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Trials) was conducted. After establishing liter-ature inclusion and exclusion criteria, two independent researchers were selected literatures. Of the 15 articles were included in this scoping review, 11 were in vitro studies, and four were in vivo studies. The ingredients tested in these studies were povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, essential oils, and qua-ternary ammonium compounds, and they showed various efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Despite the relatively limited evidence from the included studies, the use of mouth rinse has the potential to reduce the viral load of SARS-CoV-2. In particular, povidone-iodine is expected to be the most effective against SARS-CoV-2, given the evidence so far.