Abstract: Japanese Dental Science Review 57 (2021) 39–45 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Japanese Dental Science Review journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jdsr Review Article Can povidone iodine gargle/mouthrinse inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and decrease the risk of nosocomial and community transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic? An evidence-based update Aditi Chopra a , Karthik Sivaraman b , Raghu Radhakrishnan c , Dhanasekar Balakrishnan b , Aparna Narayana b,∗ a Department of Periodontology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, India Department of Prosthodontics and Crown and Bridge, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, India c Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 576104, India b a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 11 December 2020 Received in revised form 28 February 2021 Accepted 2 March 2021 Keywords: COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Povidone-iodine Mouthwash Global health Viral infection Oral health a b s t r a c t The Coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), also referred to as the novel ‘CoV19 (nCov19)’ is caused by a new coronavirus strain similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 spreads via respiratory droplets, saliva, or direct contact. Therefore it is important to control the viral load in the saliva and respiratory secretions. One of the most simple and cost-effective measures that can be adopted by the public and healthcare professionals to prevent cross-contamination and community transmission, is the implementation of effective oral and throat hygiene. Recent evidence has confirmed that 0.5% povidone iodine (PVP-I) mouthrinse/gargle for 30 s can reduce SARS-CoV-2 virus infectivity to below detectable levels. PVP-I can even interrupt SARS-CoV-2 attachment to oral and nasopharyngeal tissues and lower the viral particles in the saliva and respiratory droplets. Thus, the use of PVP-I mouthrinse as a prophylactic measure has been advocated across the globe to reduce disease transmission. Although the efficacy of PVP-I against SARS-CoV-2 is proven, no review articles have yet discussed the evidence and mechanisms of PVP-I against the SARS-CoV-2. Thus, this paper highlights the rationale, safety, recommendations, and dosage of PVP-I gargle/mouthrinse as an effective method to decrease the viral loads during the pressing times of COVID-19. © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Japanese Association for Dental Science. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).