Does Chlorhexidine Prevent Complications in Extractive, Periodontal, and Implant Surgery? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis with Trial Sequential Analysis

Purpose: This systematic review aimed to assess the effect of chlorhexidine (CHX) in preventing complications after extractive, implant, and periodontal surgery.
Materials and Methods: The PICO question set for this systematic review was: “Is the use of chlorhexidine formulations able to prevent complications (safety) in patients undergoing procedures of either oral surgery, dental implantology, or periodontology compared to treatment procedures in patients without a chlorhexidine prescription?” Once inclusion and exclusion criteria were established, a search was carried out independently by two researchers on PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science. The primary outcomes investigated were the rate of alveolar osteitis and bacteremia after surgical procedures in oral surgery. Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) were performed in order to evaluate the findings.
Results: After the selection, the 32 studies that fully met the eligibility criteria were considered in this systematic review. A meta-analysis was only possible for data obtained from studies related to extractive surgery. Meta-analysis and TSA showed a statistically significant decrease in the rate of alveolar osteitis after tooth extraction when CHX was employed compared with placebo treatments or treatments not using CHX (RR = 0.49; 95% CI: [0.40, 0.60], P < .001; I2 = 8%). Focusing on the rate of bacteremia, meta-analysis and TSA showed how the employment of CHX (RR = 0.87; 95% CI: [0.79, 0.96], P = .004; I2 = 4%) decreases the rate of bacteremia after extractive surgery. Data from the literature seem to lack in the evaluation of CHX use for the reduction of complications in periodontology and implant dentistry.
Conclusion: This systematic review showed with a good power of evidence that CHX employment reduces alveolar osteitis and bacteremia rates after dental extractions.