Comparison of two commercially available mouth rinses on gingival inflammation, pain and acceptability after third molar surgery

Abstract

A randomized clinical trial was carried out to compare the difference in the effects of using two different mouth rinses on healing after surgical removal of wisdom teeth. One mouth rinse contained chlorhexidine with alcohol whereas the other was chlorhexidine without alcohol. Twenty-one patients without any medical conditions underwent surgical removal of their 3rd molars by the same operator on both the sides. Data were analysed by the non-parametric function test. Significant differences were shown in the pain score and the number of inflammation sites (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in the acceptability of the two mouth rinses. In this study, non-alcohol chlorhexidine mouth rinse seemed better than an alcohol-containing chlorhexidine mouth rinse in diminishing patients' post-operative pain and wound inflammation. Non-alcohol chlorhexidine mouth rinse had similar properties without the adverse effects of alcohol, such as dryness of the mouth and addiction. Likewise, they were less likely to result in alcohol-induced pain. © 2007 Elsevier. All rights reserved.