The rationale for chemical adjuncts in plaque control

The rationale for the adjunctive use of chemical anti-plaque agents depends on many factors in addition to the inherent antimicrobial properties of th ose agents. What is indicated generally is a basic oral hygiene regimen, as simple as it can be, bearing in mind the practical difficulties of getting people to clean their teeth optimally. Chemical adjuncts in many cases hav e the potential to simplify plaque control regimens. The mode of delivery m ay be critical to the success or otherwise of an adjunct. Adjuncts may simp lify and accelerate the work of hygienists as well as patients. They may al so serve to control plaque in severe forms of infectious inflammatory perio dontal disease, as well as providing practical means of plaque control in t he handicapped, or in those unable to practice optimal conventional home ca re oral hygiene. Chemical anti-plaque adjuncts offer a prospect of re-estab lishing the homoeostasis of oral microbial biofilms fully consonant with th e aims of modern periodontal medicine.