Oral Mouth Rinses against Supragingival Biofilm and Gingival Inflammation

Caries and inflammatory periodontal diseases have a high prevalence worldwide. Although improvements in oral health status in our patients have been shown, there is still an increased demand for preventive measurements – especially in view of the systemic influence of the chronic disease periodontitis. The main focus of such measurements lies on an optimal biofilm management which can be divided into professional biofilm management and home care measurements. Since home care mechanical measurements such as toothbrushing and interdental cleaning are often insufficient or not on a regular basis, they can be supported by antibacterial agents which are able to inhibit or kill any oral microorganisms that remain. Besides a proven effect on plaque bacteria and gingival inflammation, agents should have a high substantivity in the oral cavity that outlast the short rinsing period. This chapter aims to present the background and rationale of using antibacterial mouth rinses, their common agents, to show sensible indications, and to evaluate the scientific evidence of their additional effect over toothbrushing alone.