Superiority of an essential oil mouthrinse when compared with a 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride containing mouthrinse: a six-month study.

Objective: To evaluate the antiplaque/antigingivitis effectiveness of an essential oils containing mouthrinse as compared to a 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride mouthrinse.

Method: Generally healthy subjects with mild to moderate levels of plaque and gingivitis participated in a 6-month, examiner-blind, single centre, randomised, parallel-group controlled clinical trial. They were randomised into three mouthrinse groups--control (C), 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), or a fixed combination of essential oils (EO). Subjects received a dental prophylaxis at baseline and rinsed twice daily in addition to their usual oral hygiene for six months. Plaque Index and Modified Gingival Index were determined at 3 and 6 months.

Results: At 6 months, the EO group exhibited statistically significantly lower mean scores for MGI and PI than CPC (32.4% and 56.2% reductions, respectively). Compared to control, EO provided statistically significantly lower mean MGI and PI scores (36.3% and 69.7 %, respectively). The CPC group showed statistically significantly lower mean MGI and PI scores than the C group (5.8% and 30.7%, respectively).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated the superiority of an EO rinse compared to a 0.05% CPC rinse in reducing plaque and gingivitis and confirmed that the daily use of an EO containing mouthrinse can provide a clinically significant benefit in reducing plaque and gingivitis.