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The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of preoperative 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash on the risk of bacteraemia following routine intra-alveolar tooth extraction. The study was a randomized controlled clinical study of 101 subjects who underwent intra-alveolar dental extractions under local anaesthesia. Subjects were randomly assigned to either chlorhexidine or a control group. The chlorhexidine group had 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash administered for 1 min before any dental manipulation, and the control group had a mouthrinse of sterile water. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 1 min and 15 min after the dental extractions. Subculture and further identification of the isolated bacteria were performed by conventional microbiological techniques. There was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of bacteraemia between the control group (52.4%) and chlorhexidine group (27.1%) (P = 0.012). Bacteraemia was most frequently detected at 1 min after extraction (33.3%). Of the 30 subjects who had positive blood culture at 1 min, bacteraemia persisted in 8 (26.7%) of the subjects after 15 min. Bacteria isolated included Staphylococcus aureus, Actinomycetes naesulendi, Prevotella species, Streptococcus spp., and Acinetobacter iwoffii. Routine use of 0.20% chlorhexidine mouthwash before dental extraction is recommended to reduce the risk of bacteraemia following tooth extraction., (Copyright © 2014 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)