Comparative Evaluation of Tongue Coat Inhibitory Effect of 1% Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide Mouthrinse with that of 0.2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Mouthrinse in the Treatment of Halitosis using N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide Assay: A Randomized Crossover Study

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of 1% Stabilized Chlorine dioxide (ClO 2) mouthrinse as compared with 0.2% Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) mouthrinse on tongue coat assessed by N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide (BANA) assay in the treatment of halitosis. Materials and methods: Twenty systemically healthy subjects with self-reported halitosis were enrolled in the study as per the inclusion criteria. The participants were assigned to use either aqueous 1% stabilized ClO 2 mouthrinse (Group I) or aqueous 0.2% CHX mouthrinse (Group II). The study was conducted in two phases of 15 days duration each with an intervening washout period of 7 days. Subjects were assessed at baseline and 15 days in each phase for oral hygiene using Plaque index (PI) and Winkel tongue coating index (WTCI). Volatile sulfur compound (VSC) in exhaled breath was measured using portable sulfide monitor. On the 15th day, tongue coating samples were assessed for both Groups using chairside BANA assay. Results: Both Groups I and II demonstrated significant reduction in PI scores at 15 days as compared with baseline. However, reduction in PI score was found to be statistically significant in favor of Group I as compared with Group II after 15 days (p-value: 0.001). Reduction in WTCI scores was statistically nonsignificant for both Groups I and II at 15 days (p-value: 0.094). Qualitative VSC scores by portable sulfide monitor on assessment of exhaled breath was statistically nonsignificant for both Groups I and II at 15 days (p-value: 0.131). The BANA scores for tongue coat samples from both Groups were comparable at 15 days with no statistical significance (p-value: 0.503). Conclusion: The observation from present study settings would lead to infer that dental plaque inhibition, tongue coat inhibition, and VSC production are comparable for both the Groups in the treatment of physio logical halitosis.