Clinical and microbiological effects of chlorhexidine and arginine sustained‐release varnishes in the mentally retarded

Local applications of sustained‐released varnishes of chlorhexidine and arginine were used in a controlled pilot study of 34 mentally retarded patients, ages 18–45, assigned to one of these groups: chlorhexidine (C), arginine (A), or placebo (P). A professional scaling followed by four weeks of professional brushing to reach a Plaque Index (PII) and Gingival Index (GI) of 1.0 at baseline preceded eight weeks of daily varnish application to the buccaI and labial surfaces of all teeth. Clinical parameters (PII and GI) and bacterial samples from selected teeth were collected at predetermined intervals. Four and eight weeks following the baseline, the PII was significantly different among the groups, with the lowest score in the chlorhexidine group. No significant differences among the three groups were noted for the GI. The chlorhexidine and arginine groups showed significant reductions (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) in the number of S. mutans. The arginine group showed a nonsignificant increase in the number of S. sanguis. These results suggest that the topical antimicrobial agents may have some relevance to plaque control among patients with mental retardation.