Plaque formation and gingivitis after mouthrinsing with 0.2% delmopinol hydrochloride, 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate, and placebo for four weeks following an initial professional tooth cleaning
The aim of this study was to follow, during a period of four weeks, an initial professional tooth cleaning on patients with gingivitis to investigate the anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis effect of delmopinol in comparison with chlorhexidine and placebo.
This was a double-blind, randomized four-week clinical trial with parallel group design in 57 patients with gingivitis. The plaque index and plaque wet weight were used to measure plaque formation; gingival fluid flow and bleeding on probing were used to measure gingivitis. Chlorhexidine showed a significantly better effect on plaque formation than the placebo after four weeks' treatment for both plaque measurements. Delmopinol exhibited significantly lower plaque index scores than placebo. The difference between chlorhexidine and delmopinol was not statistically significant for any of the plaque measurements. For gingivitis, no statistically significant difference was observed between the effects of delmopinol, chlorhexidine, and placebo. A transient anesthetic sensation was experienced by the patients in the delmopinol group. Rinsing with chlorhexidine resulted in more staining of the teeth. This study showed good tolerance and acceptability of mouth rinsing with the delmopinol. [S.L.]
Hase, J. C., J. Ainamo, H. Etemadzadeh, and M. Hastrom, J Clin Periodont, 22:533,1995