Clinical And Microbiological Effects Of An Essential Oils-Containing Mouth Rinse Applied In The “One-Stage Full-Mouth Disinfection”...

The aim of this randomized double-blinded pilot study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiological long-term effects of an essential oils-containing mouthrinse as the active agent utilized on the “one stage full-mouth disinfection protocol”. Pocket depth, plaque and gingival indices were evaluated by the same calibrated examiner in all teeth of 20 moderate chronic periodontitis subjects. Presence of A.actinomycetemcomitans, P.gingivalis and T.forsythia were determined by PCR in non-stimulated saliva, tongue dorsum and pooled subgingival samples. The subjects were randomized allocate to a given group: full-mouth disinfection plus essential-oils (Listerine®) or full-mouth disinfection plus placebo. Clinical and microbial parameters were evaluated at baseline (T0), 45 (T1) and 180 (T2) days after therapy and analyzed using ANOVA, Student-t, Wilcoxon tests (p<0.05). It was not observed significant between-groups differences regarding clinical measurements at baseline. However, in the other examinations, the test group always presented higher reductions of PD, PI and GI compared to control group. The essential-oils group revealed significant reduction on occurrence of P. gingivalis in saliva comparing baseline and 45 days; this difference still remain at 180 days. The essential oils-containing mouthrinse demonstrated beneficial effects on clinical parameters. Microbiological findings were less consistent. The results of this pilot study suggest further investigations.