Herbal mouthwash- an alternative to CHX in mechanical plaque control: Study

In last few years, the use of plant extracts in alternative medicine has evolved widely. Various herbal products, including mouth wash and toothpaste, are now available and have shown to possess beneficial effect on oral health.

One such study revealed that herbal mouthwash can be used effectively as an alternative to CHX and as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control.

The study is published in the Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology.

Anshula Deshpande et al. aimed at comparing the anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis effects of green tea (GT), GT plus ginger (GT + G), and chlorhexidine mouthwash (CHX) in children.

This was a randomized clinical trial, with a sample size of 60 children between the age group of 10–14 years with plaque and gingivitis. They were randomly allocated in three different groups, depending upon the mouthwash used: Group A (GT mouthwash), Group B (GT plus ginger mouthwash), and Group C (CHX mouthwash).

Plaque index and gingival index were recorded at baseline, then at interval of 15 days and 30 days after using mouthwash.

The results of the study showed that the mean gingival score and plaque showed a significant reduction from the baseline among all the three groups when compared with subsequent recall visits (15 days after using mouth-rinse and 30 days after using mouthwash) with P < 0.05.

Therefore, the authors concluded that "there was significant reduction in plaque score and gingival index score in children after using mouthwash containing GT plus ginger, followed by mouthwash containing GT and CHX. Thus, it can be concluded that herbal mouthwash can be used effectively as an alternative to CHX and as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control."