Effect of different mouth washes as a pre-procedural rinse to combat aerosol contamination– A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Ultrasonic scaling is a potent source of aerosol generation in dental offices, thus causing increase risk of bacterial infections. Pre-procedural mouth rinsing has been found effective in reducing the bacterial load of the aerosol produced during the procedure. Aim and objectives: the aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of two different mouthwashes containing Chlorhexidine and Octenidine with distilled water, by using them as preprocedural rinsing agents in reducing the bacterial load of the aerosol produced by ultrasonic scaler. Materials and Methods: 80 subjects aged 18-35years were randomly divided into three groups on the basis of mouth rinses used for preprocedural mouthrinsing - Group 1: Distilled Water (Control), Group 2: 0.2% Chlorhexidine (CHX), Group 3: 0.1% Octenidine. The aerosols were collected on agar plates placed and stabilized on patient’s as well as on operator’s chest. all the agar plates were sent for microbiological analysis to the microbiological laboratory for Colony Forming Unit (CFU) count on the same day of ultrasonic scaling procedure. The data obtained was subjected to the statistical analysis using SPSS software version 20.0. Result: At all locations, the mean CFU was significantly highest in Group I, followed by Group II and Group III. It was observed that aerosol generation on patients was significantly more than operator. Conclusion: In our study 0.1% octenidine was found to be most effective preprocedural mouthwash in reducing the bacterial load in the aerosol produced during ultrasonic scaling followed by 0.2% chlorhexidine and distilled water.