Antiplaque Effect of Essential Oils and 0.2% Chlorhexidine on an in Situ Model of Oral Biofilm Growth.
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
1969-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The accumulation and maturation of oral biofilm in the gingival margin is widely recognised
to be the primary aetiological factor in the development of chronic gingivitis. Based on this
association, the current treatment of gingivitis is focused on biofilm disruption, which will
normally include mechanical processes, both professionally and at home. However, for
patients, it is not easy to achieve a proper level of plaque control. The efficient plaque
control techniques are very time consuming and require a special motivation and skills for
their optimum use. It was at this point where mouthwashes become important, due to the fact
that they include diverse types of antimicrobial agents to complement the results of
mechanical oral hygiene measures.
Chlorhexidine is considered the "gold standard" of oral antiseptics; nevertheless it has not
been recommended for long periods of time due to its well-known secondary effects. All of
these inconveniences have limited its acceptability among dental professionals and users; in
contrast, however, are the exceptional antiseptic properties, promoting the interest of
researchers in other alternative antiplaque agents. Mouthwashes containing essential oils in
their formulation have received a lot of attention. Their antiplaque activity has been
demonstrated in numerous clinical studies, in which they were used in conjunction with
mechanical oral hygiene measures.
In order to achieve a better understanding of the clinical effects that antimicrobial agents
produce in the interior of the biofilm, it is necessary to apply a methodology in which the
biofilm grows directly in the interior of the oral cavity but its three dimensional structure
is not distorted by manipulation.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the in situ antiplaque effect of 2 antimicrobial agents
(essential oils formulation and 0.2% chlorhexidine) in the short term with a posterior
analysis on "non-destructured" biofilm with Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope combined with
fluorescence staining.