Introduction: Dentists worldwide are witnessing an uncertain professional situation during times of COVID-19 pandemic, therefore the identification of specific antiviral mouth rinses to reduce salivary viral load would contribute to reducing the pandemic.

Objective: To analyze information regarding mouth rinses that help to reduce oral bacterial load of COVID-19 such as chlorhexidine, cetylpyridinium chloride, povidone iodine and hydrogen peroxide.

Methodology: Articles on mouthwashes were analyzed in the databases PubMed, SCOPUS and Google academic with emphasis on the last 5 years. This was done with the words: COVID-19 and chlorhexidine", "cetylpyridinium chloride", "povidone iodine", "hydrogen peroxide.

Results: Chlorhexidine has been shown to have a viral inactivation effect against SARS-CoV 2 and facilitates control of oral transmission. Concentrations of 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride commonly used in mouthwashes are sufficient to promote membrane rupture of SARS-CoV-2. Povidone-iodine rapidly inactivates SARS-CoV-2 when applied for as little as 15 seconds. The indication for preoperative mouth rinsing with 1% hydrogen peroxide is recommended to reduce the SARS-CoV-2 viral load in saliva.

Conclusion: Mouth rinses can inhibit or inactivate SARS-CoV-2, some being more effective and efficient than others. Chlorhexidine and iodine were found to be the most effective mouth rinses in lowering oral viral load, while cetylpyridinium chloride and hydrogen peroxide did not perform as well in comparison.