The impact of chemotherapeutic agents on treatment planning.

In this article the impact of chemotherapeutic agents on planning therapy for patients with plaque associated problems are reviewed. For special patients such as those receiving systemic medications which cause xerostomia or gingival hyperplasia, topical antimicrobials are of value for utilizing chemotherapeutic agents to teach patients a "clean mouth endpoint". Once achieved, patients can use this as a goal to obtain without the use of an agent. Two mouthrinses have been clearly shown to be effective in reducing plaque and gingivitis; one contains chlorhexidine and the other essential oils. A third agent, sanguinarine, found in both a dentifrice and mouthrinse, appears to be effective when used as combined therapy and further studies of combined usage are warranted.