Evidence mapPaperPMID 40530503Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of dental hygiene2025

The Effect of Cetylpyridinium Chloride Compared to Chlorhexidine Mouthwash on Scores of Plaque and Gingivitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

Emmy Rowan Windhorst, Maud Joosstens, Eveline van der Sluijs, Dagmar Else Slot

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-AnalysisComparative Study
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of dental hygiene, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Emmy Rowan WindhorstDepartment of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1137-0136
Maud JoosstensDepartment of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0180-6495
Eveline van der SluijsDepartment of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1269-1710
Dagmar Else SlotDepartment of Periodontology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7234-0037

Funding

HALEON
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo evaluate the effectiveness of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwashes (MW) on plaque and gingivitis scores for patients with gingivitis, in brushing as well as non-brushing situations.

methodsA comprehensive search of MEDLINE-PubMed and Cochrane-CENTRAL was conducted to identify clinical and randomised controlled trials comparing CPC and CHX mouthwashes on plaque and gingivitis scores. The staining index was evaluated as a secondary outcome. In addition, the risk of bias was assessed. The data was summarised using a descriptive approach, and whenever possible, a meta-analysis was conducted. The results for brushing and non-brushing studies were presented separately. Grading was applied using the GRADE approach to rate the certainty of evidence.

resultsThe search resulted in 424 unique papers, from which 14 full-text papers providing 18 comparisons were selected. Different concentrations of CPC-MW (0.1%, 0.075%, 0.05%) and CHX-MW (0.2%, 0.12%) were used. The risk of bias was estimated to be low, moderate or high for each study. A meta-analysis for non-brushing models showed a significant favour for CHX-MW in plaque index scores (0.55 [95% CI: 0.19; 0.91], p = 0.003). For brushing, no significant differences were found between CPC-MW and CHX-MW. The descriptive analysis supports these findings. CHX-MW tends to stain more than CPC-MW.

conclusionThere is moderate certainty for a small statistically significant favourable effect of CHX-MW over CPC-MW for plaque control in non-brushing situations, but no difference between them for plaque and gingivitis prevention in brushing situations.

Indexed as

Anti-Infective Agents, LocalCetylpyridiniumChlorhexidineDental PlaqueGingivitisMouthwashesHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicToothbrushingAnti-Infective Agents, LocalCetylpyridiniumChlorhexidineMouthwashesCHXCPCgingivitismouthrinsemouthwashplaque

Identifiers

PMID40530503
PMCPMC12516004

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.