Should short‐term use of alcohol‐containing mouthrinse be avoided for fear of worsening xerostomia?

Summary This study aimed to assess the short‐term effect of alcohol‐containing mouthrinse versus mouthrinse without alcohol on xerostomia scores reported by Xerostomia Inventory (XI) scores and short version of the Xerostomia Inventory (SXI). This study was a two‐group parallel‐arm randomised controlled trial where participants were randomly allocated to twice a day for 7 days use of either alcohol‐containing or alcohol‐free mouthrinse. Allocation was concealed. The participants, the outcome assessors and the statistician were blinded to the allocation status. A total of 163 participants completed the pre‐and post‐intervention data collection. There were no statistically significant differences between the study groups with respect to demographics or other measured independent variables. After adjusting for age and gender, regression coefficient (95% CI) for XI was 0.02 (−1.72‐2.29) and that for SXI was 0.03 (−0.54‐0.83). Both adjusted and unadjusted models showed no significant differences in change in XI or SXI. The mean difference in scores between the groups for XI was −0.45 (−2.45‐1.55) and for SXI was 0.05 (−0.65‐0.75). There was no significant difference in the change in xerostomia levels as a result of short‐term exposure to alcohol‐containing mouthrinse, when compared to those exposed to alcohol‐free mouthrinse. Short‐term use of alcohol‐containing mouthrinse does not result in worsening xerostomia.