Effect of Green Tea Mouthwash on Reducing Plaque and Gingivitis

Background and objective: Extensive studies have been made on the natural mouthwashes, with fewer side effects, as an alternative to chemical ones. The present study aimed to determine the efficacy of green tea and chlorhexidine mouthwashes on plaque and gingival indices. Materials and Methods: The present was a double-blind clinical trial (intervention study). A total of 10 dental students as patients (from first to fourth semester) at Shahid Beheshti Dental School were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Plaque and gingival indices were evaluated. The subjects were allocated to use placebo, green tea and chlorhexidine mouthwashes for three courses of three days. There was one-week interval between each course. Scaling and root planing were performed for all the patients. After each course, the desired parameters were calculated and data analyzed by nonparametric statistics (e.g., Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon, using repeated measures. Results: At baseline and three days after the usage, the mean plaque index was 2.2 and 1 in the green tea group, 2 and 2.5 in the placebo group, and 2 and 0.88 in the chlorhexidine group, respectively. Reductions in gingival index (GI) ranged from 1.1 to 0.6 in the green tea group, from 1.1 to 2.1 in the placebo group and 1.0 to 0.75 in chlorhexidine group, respectively. It was found that green tea mouthwash could significantly reduce the plaque index as well as gingivitis. There was no significant difference between chlorhexidine and green tea mouthwashes in reducing gingivitis. However, the use of chlorhexidine found to reduce plaque level more than the use of green tea mouthwash. Furthermore, in some of the subjects using chlorhexidine mouthwash, tooth staining (dental calculus) observed. Conclusion: Chlorhexidine and green tea mouthwashes found to be effective in reducing plaque index, and it has been shown to be equally effective in gingivitis reduction. However, the green tea and chlorhexidine mouthwashes were more effective than placebo. Concerning gingival and plaque indices, the green tea and chlorhexidine mouthwashes were minimally effective after 72h and 24h respectively.

کلیدواژه ها:

Mouthwash ، Green tea ، chlorhexidine ، plaque index ، gingival index ، gingivitis ، tooth staining (dental calculus)