Cytological changes in the oral mucosa after use of a mouth rinse with alcohol. A prospective double blind control study.

AIM: The aim of this preliminary study was to detect cytological changes in the oral mucosa after using a mouth wash with alcohol.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective double-blind, controlled study was performed, for 6 months. Group 1 consisted of 30 subjects who used a mouth rinse with 26.9% of alcohol [Listerine] and Group 2 consisted of 30 subjects who used a mouth rinse with the same ingredients but with no alcohol. We obtained three cytological samples from the oral mucosa. The presence of cytological atypia, binucleation and karyorrhesis, and type of cells were studied. We also used a fluorescent in situ hybridization technique (FISH) in 15 samples in each group, for the micronucleus.

RESULTS: We found no clinical mucosal alteration after using the mouth wash at the end of the study in either group. We observed no cytological differences between the groups at the end of the study (p>0.05). Regarding the study of the micronucleus by FISH, we observed no significant difference between the groups (p>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed no cytological alteration in patients using a mouth rinse with alcohol, but these findings should be considered preliminary results, to be confirmed in a greater sample of patients.