Chlorhexidine and Morinda citrifolia mouthwash as a preprocedural mouthrinse during ultrasonic scaling – A randomised clinical trial

Abstract

Background: Aerosols released during ultrasonic scaling can cause cross-contaminations. Infections like hepatitis and SARS-CoV-2 can spread through these aerosols. Preprocedural rinse is a cost-effective method to reduce aerosol contami-nation produced during ultrasonic scaling. Materials and Methods: This was a double-blinded randomised trial on 105 subjects diagnosed with chronic generalised periodontitis which was randomly allocated into three groups: Group I received 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX), Group II received 5% Morinda citrifolia (noni) mouthrinse, Group III received distilled water. Participants were advised to mouthrinse for 60 seconds just before the start of ultrasonic scaling. The aerosols released during ultrasonic scaling were gathered on blood agar plates placed at three locations. Colony forming units (CFUs) were counted after 48 hours of incubation. Results: The highest CFU values were observed in the distilled water group and the lowest in chlorhexidine group (p<0.05). Patient chest area has the highest number of CFU than doctors’ and assistant chest area (p<0.05). Conclusions: Preprocedural rinsing with noni mouthwash can be used as an effective method of reducing aerosol contamination during ultrasonic scaling.

Keywords

• aerosols
• chlorhexidine
• morinda citrifolia
• mouthwashes
• dental prophylaxis
• dental scaling