Efficacy of Two Pre-Procedural Rinses at Two Different Temperatures in Reducing Aerosol Contamination Produced During Ultrasonic Scaling in a Dental Set-up - A Microbiological Study

Abstract

Aerosol has been considered one of the main concerns in the dental community because of possible risk of infection transmission. Antiseptics used in the form of pre-procedural rinses can reduce aerosol contamination during dental procedures. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the efficacy of 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride and 0.2% chlorhexidine pre-procedural rinses at 47ºC and 18ºC in reducing aerosol contamination during ultrasonic scaling procedures. Forty subjects were divided randomly and equally into four groups: A1 and A2 to receive cetylpyridinium chloride and B1 and B2 to receive chlorhexidine as pre-procedural rinses. Aerosol produced during the ultrasonic scaling procedure was collected on blood agar plates at three different locations, which were incubated at 37ºC for 48 hours and analysed for bacterial colony forming units (CFU). Cetylpyridinium chloride (0.05%) as a pre-procedural rinse was found to be equally effective in reducing aerosol contamination when compared with 0.2% chlorhexidine rinse (p > 0.05). Also, greater reduction of CFU was found with the use of tempered rinses at 47ºC with a highly statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Cetylpyridinium chloride (0.05%) can be considered as a promising alternative to the gold standard 0.2% chlorhexidine, with tempering the rinse showing the definite edge.

Keywords: aerosol; cetylpyridinium chloride; chlorhexidine; pre-procedural mouthrinse; temperature; ultrasonic scaling.