Abstract
This clinical investigation was under-taken to compare the antibacterial activity of two mouth rinses (chlorhexidine diglu-conate 0.2% and phenolic compounds) with salty water (0.9% NaCl) to assess their ability to control plaque and gingival inflammation in conjunction with a normal daily home care in patients with fixed orthodontic appliance. In this clinical trial, 45 patients were randomly divided into three groups; each containing 15 per-sons matched in age and gender, they were instructed to use rinses twice daily for 30 seconds after breakfast and before the bed-time. The gingival and plaque indices were measured according to Silness and Löe for the six teeth at the baseline and two mon-ths after rinses. The results of the study revealed that there is a significant reduction at p < 0.05 after rinsing with phenol and chlorhexi-dine digluconate for gingival index, while non significant change for salty mouth-wash, and only significant reduction in plaque index for chlorhexidine digluconate mouth rinse and non significant one for phenol and salty mouthwashes. These re-sults support previous published results on the superiority of 0.2% chlorhexidine di-gluconate when used in conjunction with professional care as an adjunct to routine oral hygiene practice in orthodontic pati-ents.
