Chlorhexidine varnish may be useful adjunct to routine periodontal therapy?

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies.

STUDY SELECTION: Only controlled human trials of chlorhexidine varnish using clinical outcomes were included: other chlorhexidine preparations (mouth rinses/ gels) were excluded, as were studies with concomitant preventive measures, eg, fluoride varnishes.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Details of data extraction methods are not provided and a qualitative summary is presented.

RESULTS

Ten studies were identified. Comparisons were difficult because of considerable variation in the study parameters, such as varnishes with different chlorhexidine concentrations, different ages of participants, number of applications and clinical indices employed. Eight of the 10 studies found improvements in clinical parameters.

CONCLUSIONS

The application of chlorhexidine varnish seems to have beneficial effects in people who have chronic gingivitis, improving their plaque accumulation and bleeding levels and reducing their gingival index. It is possible to maintain this beneficial effect for prolonged periods of time, although this requires re-applications of the varnish.