Anticalculus efficacy of an antiseptic mouthrinse containing zinc chloride.

Background: The authors undertook a controlled clinical study to determine the efficacy of a tartar-control antiseptic mouthrinse in inhibiting the development of supragingival dental calculus.

Methods: After undergoing a dental prophylaxis, 334 subjects with a moderate rate of calculus formation were stratified and randomly assigned to one of three groups: positive control (using a tartar-control toothpaste and an antiseptic rinse), negative control (using a regular toothpaste and an antiseptic mouthrinse) or experimental (using a regular dentifrice and a tartar-control mouthrinse). Subjects brushed and rinsed twice daily, unsupervised, for four months. The researchers assessed subjects' calculus levels using the Volpe-Manhold Index, or VMI, after 16 weeks.

Results: Using analysis of covariance, the authors found that both the experimental group (which used a tartar-control rinse containing zinc chloride) and the positive control group (which used a tartar-control dentifrice containing pyrophosphate) demonstrated statistically significantly lower VMI scores (P = .001) than the negative control group (which used a regular dentifrice and an antiseptic rinse). Both anticalculus agents provided a clinically relevant 21 percent reduction in calculus formation.

Conclusion: An antiseptic mouthrinse containing 0.09 percent zinc chloride as the anticalculus agent provides a clinically relevant reduction in calculus formation in people with a moderate rate of such formation.

Clinical Implications: A tartar-control mouthrinse with zinc chloride as the tartar-control ingredient is clinically effective in reducing the formation of calculus.