Clinical reports on the efficacy of controlled-release systems in altering cariogenic and periodontopathic microflora are summarized.

In conclusion, a high intra-examiner reproducibility was found for all plaque indices tested, both the ordinal and the interval indices.

Varnish treatment resulted in significantly higher plaque levels than CHX rinsing irrespective of the varnish that was used (p< or =0.002), implying that the latter is likely to remain the gold standard as an anti-plaque agent. However, highly significant differences were also found in favour of both varnish systems when compared with no therapy (p<0.001), which indicates that varnish treatment is an effective means of inhibiting plaque formation in a short time span. Cervitec exhibited slightly, yet significantly, higher plaque levels in comparison with EC40 as determined by AIA (p=0.006). Large-scale trials with a longer observation period are necessary to substantiate these results.

The interexaminer reproducibility of all three indices showed fair to good agreement. Buccal VPI and buccal APEI in particular showed good agreement.