RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of an essential oils mouth rinse and dental floss on dental plaque accumulation and gingivitis in interproximal areas. METHODS: With informed consent, a parallel randomized controlled clinical trial was developed with 60 third-year dental hygiene students, randomly divided into two non-blind groups of 30 individuals each. For a period of 2 weeks, one group used an essential oils mouth rinse, according to manufacturer's instructions, and the other group flossed twice a day. Both groups received a toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste for home dental hygiene care. A baseline dental hygiene appointment consisted of tooth scaling, prophylaxis and collection of the study data, using the Lobene modified gingival index; Saxton & Ouderaa gingival bleeding index and the Quigley & Hein modified by Turesky dental plaque index. RESULTS: At baseline, there was no significant difference between the groups for interproximal gingival inflammation (P = .214), gingival bleeding (P = .829) and dental plaque accumulation (P = .860). After 2 weeks of treatment, no significant differences were found between the essential oils mouth rinse and dental flossing for reduction of interproximal gingival inflammation (P = .938) and bleeding (P = .307). Essential oils mouth rinse showed to be significantly better than dental flossing in reducing interproximal dental plaque accumulation (P = .006). CONCLUSION: The use of an essential oils mouth rinse may be advised, as a complement, for patients unable to floss effectively, as it is more effective in reducing interproximal dental plaque accumulation than dental floss.