A relatively small number of agents are used in mouthrinse products, although the possible variability in the final formulations is enormous. The aim of this study was to compare equal concentrations of 3 antimicrobial agents, in simple formulations, for plaque inhibition. This 4-day plaque regrowth study was a 5-cell, randomised, double blind cross-over design, involving 20 healthy human volunteers. The mouthrinse formulations were aqueous 0.05% solutions of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), chlorhexidine and triclosan, together with a 0.1% CPC and a minus active control rinse. On Day 1, from a zero plaque baseline, volunteers ceased normal oral hygiene and rinsed 2x daily for 1 min. with 10-ml volumes of the allocated rinses. On Day 5, plaque was scored by index and area. All rinses produced lower mean plaque values compared to control, but unlike the CPC and chlorhexidine rinses, the differences with triclosan did not always reach significance. The CPC and chlorhexidine rinses were always significantly more effective than the triclosan rinse. The greatest plaque inhibition was with 0.1% CPC although rarely significantly greater than the 0.05% CPC and chlorhexidine rinses which were similar in efficacy. The results indicate that further studies on lower concentration chlorhexidine solutions are warranted.