Chlorhexidine mouthwash vs Blank control: Gingival index (GI)
- Population
- Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances)
- Intervention
- Chlorhexidine mouthwash
- Comparison
- Blank control
- Outcome
- Gingival index (GI)
Chlorhexidine mouthwash may reduce the Gingival Index versus blank control in the short term (WMD -0.54, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.13), but with very high heterogeneity the evidence is very uncertain (very low certainty).
What each review found
Include earlier review versions| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash (adjunct to mechanical cleaning) vs Blank control (no mouthwash; before-after comparison) Gingival Index (GI, Loe & Silness 1963) · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances) · <=3 months (short-term), Orthodontic patients undergoing orthodontic treatment (randomized controlled trials; multiple countries) Chlorhexidine mouthwash may reduce the Gingival Index versus blank control in the short term (WMD -0.54, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.13), but with very high heterogeneity the evidence is very uncertain (very low certainty). The efficacy of mouthwashes on oral microorganisms and gingivitis in patients undergoing orthodontic… (2023) All outcomes | WMD -0.54 [-0.96, -0.13] | 6 studies · 274 participants | Very low |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The efficacy of mouthwashes on oral microorganisms and gingivitis in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment: a systematic review and… 2023 All outcomes | 16 April 2022 (databases and grey literature searched by 16 April 2022; no publication-year limit) | 47 | Low / Moderate |
Related questions
The same intervention and outcome, asked in another population or against another comparator.
- Chlorhexidine mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash · Orthodontic patients (any age) undergoing orthodontic treatment (mostly fixed appliances) · 1 review
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.