The Efficacy of Pre-Procedural Mouth Rinse on Bacterial Count in Dental Aerosol Following Oral Prophylaxis

Abstract

© 2016 by Wroclaw Medical University and Polish Dental Society. Background. The aerosols produced by ultrasonic devices are heavily contaminated by microorganisms which pose a serious health threat to the clinician. Thus protection of the clinician against these microorganisms becomes mandatory. Dental handpieces, ultrasonic scalers, air polishers and air abrasion units produce visible aerosols. Objectives. The study was performed to assess the efficacy of pre-procedural rinsing with chlorhexidine mouth wash in reducing bacterial aerosol contamination following oral prophylaxis. Material and Methods. The study was designed to include 20 systemically healthy patients within the range of 25–40 years of age. The subjects were randomly assigned into two groups. Group I subjects were given saline mouth rinse and the patients of group II were given chlorhexidine mouth rinse prior to the treatment. The aerosol produced by the ultrasonic unit was collected at the 6 o’clock position on blood agar plates within a range of 3 feet in both of the groups and the samples were inoculated onto blood agar plates. The blood agar plates were incubated for 24 hours and the total number of colony forming units (CFUs) were counted. Results. The results showed that CFUs decreased in patents who had a pre-rinse with chlorhexidine mouth wash when compared to patients with saline mouth rinse. Conclusions. Pre-procedural use of mouth rinse using chlorhexidine can significantly reduce the viable microbial content of dental aerosols and protect the operator from the bacterial hazards.