ObjectiveThis study aimed at assessing, in vivo, whether the prior use of
0.12% chlorhexidine as mouthwash would decrease air contamination caused by
aerosolized sodium bicarbonate during dental prophylaxis. The study was conducted
with 23 patients aged between 10 and 40 years old who were randomly selected and
undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.MethodsThe study was divided into two phases (T1 and T2) with a
30-day interval in between. In both phases, dental prophylaxis was performed with
aerosolized sodium bicarbonate jetted to the upper and lower arches for 4 minutes.
In T1, 10 minutes before the prophylaxis procedure, the participants
used distilled water as mouthwash for one minute; whereas in T2,
mouthwash was performed with 0.12% chlorhexidine. Microbial samples were collected
in BHI agar plates for microbiological analysis. Two dishes were positioned on the
clinician (10 cm from the mouth) and a third one at 15 cm from the patient's
mouth. The samples were incubated for 48 hours at 37°C. Results were expressed in
colony-forming units (CFU).ResultsStatistical analysis carried out by means of Student's t test, as well as
Wilconxon and Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed that the prior use of 0.12%
chlorhexidine as mouthwash significantly reduced CFU in the three positions
studied (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe prior use of 0.12% chlorhexidine as mouthwash significantly reduced
contamination caused by aerosolized sodium bicarbonate during dental prophylaxis
in the orthodontic clinic.