Abstract: Original paper Effect of oral antiseptics on the viral load of SARS-CoV-2: A randomized controlled trial Sema Nur Sevinç Gül1,A,B,D,F, Alparslan Dilsiz1,A,E, İmran Sağlık2,C,E, Nurten Nur Aydın3,B,C 1 Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Bursa Uludağ University, Turkey 3 Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Erzurum Regional Training and Research Hospital, Turkey 2 A – research concept and design; B – collection and/or assembly of data; C – data analysis and interpretation; D – writing the article; E – critical revision of the article; F – final approval of the article Dental and Medical Problems, ISSN 1644-387X (print), ISSN 2300-9020 (online) Address for correspondence Sema Nur Sevinç Gül E-mail: semanursevinc@gmail.com Funding sources None declared Conflict of interest None declared Acknowledgements We would like to thank Suphi Özçomak for statistical assistance and Bioeksen R&D Technologies for providing RT-PCR tests. Received on April 15, 2022 Reviewed on May 31, 2022 Accepted on June 9, 2022 Published online on July 29, 2022 Dent Med Probl. Abstract Background. In the oral cavity, which plays an important role in the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is possible to reduce the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 with antiseptics, thereby minimizing the transmission of the virus during dental procedures. Objectives. The aim of this study was to clinically evaluate the effect of the hypochlorous acid (HClO) and povidone-iodine (PVP-I) solutions on the oral viral load of SARS-CoV-2. Material and methods. This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 75 patients hospitalized in the COVID-19 ward of a local hospital. All the patients included in the study were within the first 24 h of hospitalization and the first 5 days of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. The viral load of mouthwash samples was measured with the cycle threshold (Ct) value of SARS-CoV-2 through a realtime reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The patients were divided into 3 groups. The effect on the patient’s SARS-CoV-2 viral load was investigated after gargling the mouths and throats for 30 s with HClO, PVP-I and isotonic saline. First, a sample was taken after gargling with isotonic saline, then another sample was taken after gargling for 30 s with a particular antiseptic to determine the viral load of SARS-CoV-2. Results. Comparing the before and after mouthwash samples from all 3 groups, there were no statistically significant differences in the Ct values before and after gargling (p > 0.05). However, there were statistically significant differences in the number of negative samples after the use of HClO and PVP-I, which were positive before gargling (p < 0.05). Cite as Sevinç Gül SN, Dilsiz A, Sağlık İ, Aydın NN. Effect of oral antiseptics on the viral load of SARS-CoV-2: A randomized controlled trial [published online as ahead of print on July 29, 2022]. Dent Med Probl. doi:10.17219/dmp/150831 DOI 10.17219/dmp/150831 Copyright Copyright by Author(s) This is an article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Conclusions. In the light of the data obtained in this study, there is insufficient evidence that gargling with HClO or PVP-I reduces..