The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a chlorhexidine coating on the nylon filaments of an interdental brush in reducing bacterial contamination from actual clinical usage. In addition, the residual antimicrobial capacity of the coating over time from clinical exposure was studied. The same type of interdental brush, one with chlorhexidine-coated nylon filaments (antibacterial) and one with uncoated (control) nylon filaments was used with 20 subjects who were participating in a periodontal maintenance program. All subjects had more than four interproximal spaces large enough to accommodate the interdental brush at the start of the study. The subjects served as their own controls in this cross-over design. They used their brushes daily for one and two weeks, respectively. After the last use, each brush was kept in a controlled environment (20-22 degrees C, 65% relative humidity) for 24 hours for air drying. It was found that antimicrobial activity was detected on the chlorhexidine-coated filaments, even after one or two weeks of storage. The mean residual antimicrobial activity of the test filaments at one week was significantly higher than that found on the filaments after two weeks. The mean number of bacteria attached to the antimicrobial filaments were significantly fewer than those on uncoated, control filaments at both one week and two weeks of usage. These results suggest that chlorhexidine-coated filaments on an interdental brush can significantly reduce bacterial contamination and retain this antimicrobial activity for up to two weeks of use.