Introduction:

The World Health Organization announced the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as a public health emergency of international concern. It is believed that the use of some mouth-rinses could decrease the salivary viral load and thus prevent the risk of infection in health care professionals. The objective of this review was to know the effectiveness of different mouth-rinses in reducing the salivary viral load in COVID-19 positive patients.

Method:

A systematic review was carried out in MEDLINE, EBSCOhost and SciELO databases to analyze articles in English published between 2020 and 2021. The QUADAS guideline was used to assess the risk of bias of the studies.

Development:

Of 75 articles found, five were selected for a qualitative analysis. The mouth-rinses analyzed were Hydrogen Peroxide, Povidone Iodine, Cetylpyridinium Chloride and Chlorhexidine Gluconate. Each study standardized the amount of mouth-rinse used, rinsing time, sampling, and data analysis. Povidone Iodine and Chlorhexidine Gluconate solutions were shown to significantly decrease the salivary viral load of COVID-19 positive patients.

Conclusion:

Although there were mouth-rinses that effectively decreased salivary viral load, more clinical studies are required with a universal and standardized methodology.

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