What do systematic reviews say?

Green tea mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Green tea mouthwash showed no clear difference in volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  28 days
  MD -57.39 [-184.63, 69.85]
  1 study · 60 participants
  GRADE not reported

Toothbrushing + Turkish gall oral rinse vs Toothbrushing alone

Toothbrushing + Turkish gall oral rinse showed no clear difference in volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with toothbrushing; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 weeks
  MD -211.47 [-503.58, 80.64]
  1 study · 66 participants
  GRADE not reported

Lemongrass oil mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Lemongrass oil mouthwash led to lower volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  8 days
  MD -26.66 [-43.39, -9.93]
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Abrasive candy; abrasive candy + 2% propolis; abrasive candy + 0.5% zinc gluconate vs Abrasive candy + 1% propolis + 0.25% zinc

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Barak 2012 (5-arm RCT) compared abrasive candy, abrasive candy with propolis and abrasive candy with zinc gluconate versus abrasive candy with propolis and zinc; VSC measured by halimeter. We could not use the results…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Hinokitiol gel vs Placebo gel

Hinokitiol gel showed no clear difference in VSC: methyl mercaptan compared with placebo gel; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  28 days
  MD -1.64 [-5.77, 2.49]
  1 study · 18 participants
  GRADE not reported

Triclosan dentifrice vs Negative control dentifrice

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Nogueira-Filho 2002 (5-arm trial) compared three commercial 0.3% triclosan dentifrices and an experimental formulation versus a negative control dentifrice; VSC by halimeter. We could not use the results in the…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Toothbrushing + 0.075% cetylpyridinium chloride mouthwash vs Toothbrushing alone

Toothbrushing + 0.075% cetylpyridinium chloride mouthwash led to lower volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with toothbrushing; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  3 weeks
  MD -8.04 [-15.87, -0.21]
  1 study · 70 participants
  GRADE not reported

Chlorine dioxide mouthrinse (with tongue scraping) vs Chlorhexidine mouthwash (with tongue scraping)

Chlorine dioxide mouthrinse (with tongue scraping) showed no clear difference in VSC: methyl mercaptan compared with chlorhexidine mouthwash (with tongue scraping); GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  1 week
  MD 7.63 [-1.7, 16.96]
  1 study · 22 participants
  GRADE not reported

Scaling and root planing (SRP) plus glycine powder air polishing vs Scaling/root planing alone

Scaling and root planing (SRP) plus glycine powder air polishing showed no clear difference in volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with scaling and root planing (SRP) alone; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  30 days
  MD -3.87 [-17.93, 10.19]
  1 study · 60 participants
  GRADE not reported

Essential oil mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Essential oil mouthwash showed no clear difference in volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 weeks
  MD -5.13 [-32.94, 22.68]
  1 study · 45 participants
  GRADE not reported
• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Garcia 2014 (2-arm RCT) compared essential oil mouthwash versus placebo mouthwash (VSC by halimeter). We could not include the results in the meta-analysis because of the missing SD and P value.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Cetylpyridinium chloride mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Cetylpyridinium chloride mouthwash led to lower volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 weeks
  MD -20.04 [-37.71, -2.37]
  1 study · 47 participants
  GRADE not reported

Benzethonium chloride mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Benzethonium chloride mouthwash showed no clear difference in VSC: methyl mercaptan compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  9 days
  MD 7.2 [-24.92, 39.32]
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

0.05% chlorhexidine + 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride + 0.14% zinc lactate mouthrinse vs Placebo mouthwash

Halita mouthwash (chlorhexidine 0.05% + cetylpyridinium chloride… led to lower volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 weeks
  MD -188.0 [-308.29, -67.71]
  1 study · 40 participants
  GRADE not reported

Active rinse (zinc acetate + chlorhexidine + sodium fluoride), with or without tongue scraping vs Negative control rinse, with or without tongue scraping

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Ademovski 2012 (4-arm cross-over trial) compared an active rinse (with/without tongue scraping) versus a negative control rinse (with/without tongue scraping); OLT and VSC. The authors did not report the correlation…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Chlorine dioxide + zinc mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Chlorine dioxide + zinc mouthwash led to lower volatile sulphur compounds (VSC), halimeter compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 weeks
  MD -20.53 [-38.52, -2.54]
  1 study · 41 participants
  GRADE not reported

Cinnamon herbal mouthwash; Nanosil (hydrogen peroxide) mouthwash; Irsha mouthwash vs Water (negative control) and zinc solution (positive control)

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Talebian 2009 (cross-over study) tested cinnamon herbal, Nanosil and Irsha mouthwashes versus water (negative control) and zinc solution (positive control); VSC by halimeter. We could not include the results in the…
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Pycnogenol chewing gum vs Placebo chewing gum

Pycnogenol chewing gum showed no clear difference in VSC: methyl mercaptan compared with placebo chewing gum; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 weeks
  MD -8.4 [-24.95, 8.15]
  1 study · 21 participants
  GRADE not reported

Pycnogenol chewing gum vs Placebo chewing gum

Pycnogenol chewing gum showed no clear difference in VSC: methyl sulphide compared with placebo chewing gum; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 weeks
  MD -4.7 [-27.01, 17.61]
  1 study · 21 participants
  GRADE not reported

Benzethonium chloride mouthwash vs Placebo mouthwash

Benzethonium chloride mouthwash showed no clear difference in VSC: dimethyl sulphide compared with placebo mouthwash; GRADE not reported.

• Interventions for managing halitosis 2019 · Cochrane All outcomes

  9 days
  MD -0.03 [-0.63, 0.57]
  1 study · 20 participants
  GRADE not reported

Camel thorn (plant distillate) vs placebo

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  up to 14 days
  The authors report lower pain and smaller lesions in the camel thorn group up to 10 days after referral; a statistically significant difference in pain intensity was also reported.
  1 study · 93 participants
  GRADE not reported