Effectiveness Of Chlorhexidine Oral Rinse In Preventing Plaque Accumulation And Gingivitis In Patients Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment- A Systematic Review And Meta Analysis

Aim: The aim of this review was to systematically assess and report the effectiveness of chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash in preventing plaque accumulation and gingivitis in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Material and Methods: The review was prepared according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines and registered under PROSPERO database (CRD42020170776). Four electronic databases were systematically searched along with a complimentary manual search of orthodontic journals until June 2022. Only Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) reporting on antiplaque and antigingivitis efficacy of Chlorhexidine mouthwash compared with placebo or control in orthodontic patients were included. Risk of bias assessment was done using Cochrane ROB-2. Quantitative analysis (Random-Effects Model and Standard Mean Difference (SMD)) with 95 % confidence interval was used. Results: Six RCTs were included for qualitative analysis and four were included for quantitative analysis with a total of 211 participants. Out of six studies, 3 were judged to have a low risk of bias, two had some concerns and one of them had high risk of bias. Random effects meta-analysis performed for anti-plaque effect reported a significant reduction of -1.2 SMD for CHX at 4 to 6 weeks with low heterogeneity (I2-35%). The anti-gingivitis effect at 4 to 6 weeks was significant for CHX with a SMD of -1.03 and a moderate heterogeneity (I2-65%). Conclusion: On analyzing the available evidence a moderate level of certainty supports a short-term reduction in plaque accumulation and gingivitis in orthodontic patients subjected to rinsing with chlorhexidine oral rinse.