Pre-procedural mouth rinse
Patients' use of a an anti-microbial mouthwash of 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate solution for 30 seconds prior to intra-oral procedures will reduce the number of viable oral organisms. No scientific evidence indicates that pre-procedural mouth rinsing prevents clinical infections among oral health care workers. However, studies have shown that levels of oral microorganisms are reduced during routine dental procedures with rotary instruments, particularly those in which a rubber dam cannot be used such as use of a prophylaxis cup or ultrasonic scaler.