• Avinash S Bidra, Jesse S Pelletier, Jonna B Westover, Samantha Frank, Seth M Brown, and Belachew Tessema.
• Department of Reconstructive Sciences, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT.
• J Prosthodont. 2020 Jul 1; 29 (6): 529-533.

PurposeTo investigate the optimal contact time and concentration for viricidal activity of oral preparation of povidone-iodine (PVP-I) against SARS-CoV-2 ('corona virus') to mitigate the risk and transmission of the virus in the dental practice.Materials And MethodsThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) USA-WA1/2020 strain, virus stock was tested against oral antiseptic solutions consisting of aqueous povidone-iodine (PVP-I) as the sole active ingredient. The PVP-I was tested at diluted concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%. Test media without any virus was added to 2 tubes of the compounds to serve as toxicity and neutralization controls. Ethanol (70%) was tested in parallel as a positive control, and water only as a negative control. The test solutions and virus were incubated at room temperature (22 ± 2 °C) for time periods of 15 and 30 seconds. The solution was then neutralized by a 1/10 dilution in minimum essential medium (MEM) 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 50 µg/mL gentamicin. Surviving virus from each sample was quantified by standard end-point dilution assay and the log reduction value (LRV) of each compound compared to the negative (water) control was calculated.ResultsPVP-I oral antiseptics at all tested concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%, completely inactivated SARS-CoV-2 within 15 seconds of contact. The 70% ethanol control group was unable to completely inactivate SARS-CoV-2 after 15 seconds of contact, but was able to inactivate the virus at 30 seconds of contact.ConclusionsPVP-I oral antiseptic preparations rapidly inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro. The viricidal activity was present at the lowest concentration of 0.5 % PVP-I and at the lowest contact time of 15 seconds. This important finding can justify the use of preprocedural oral rinsing with PVP-I (for patients and health care providers) may be useful as an adjunct to personal protective equipment, for dental and surgical specialties during the COVID-19 pandemic.© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Prosthodontics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Prosthodontists.

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