Objectives: Antiseptic mouthrinses have valuable preventive roles in dental and oral diseases. There is also evidence that in caries prevention and in plaque control, they provide additive benefits. However most of them commercially available are source of alcohol. Recently the extraepatic alcohol metabolism has been demonstrated also in oral tissue. Interestingly, in the oral cavity, the activity of aldehyde-dehydrogenase (ALDH), enzyme that converts acetaldehyde into no-toxic acetate, is lower than activity of alcohol-dehydrogenase (ADH), responsible of the conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde. This imbalance allows the accumulation in oral tissues, of a well-recognized toxic acetaldehyde. Fibroblasts, the main cells of the periodontal ligament, have important roles such as development and regeneration of the tooth support apparatus. That stated we investigated the effects of acetaldehyde on periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs) "in vitro". Methods: Cultured cells were exposed to different concentration of acetataldehyde (10-4M to 10-2M) for 5 days and its influence on cell adhesion and viability was investigated. In addition the PDLFs were examined with transmission electron microscopy technique in order to evaluate their fine morphology. Results: The results show that acetaldehyde produced a dose dependent inhibition of cell adhesion and viability and alterations on their ultrastructure. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that those effects may occur also "in vivo". Waiting for further investigations, clinicians should be alerted on potentially adverse effect of alcohol-containing mouthrinses and, to promote oral health, patients should be warned on improper use of these products.

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