An Evaluation of the Tensile Strength of Polyglactin Sutures After Immersion in Different Herbal Mouthwashes: An In Vitro Study

Background The process of suturing is essential to the healing of surgical wounds. Sutures on surgical wounds from fabric approximate ligament tissues, control haemorrhage, and assist the primary healing process in oral surgical procedures. The oral environment may cause the suture to lose its tensile strength, which causes tissue to open and spread infection. Different mouthwashes are recommended for effective oral hygiene maintenance postoperatively. Ideally, the use of mouthwashes should not alter the mechanical properties of suture materials. A suture material's tensile strength or ability to endure tension during knotting and long-term wound protection is measured. Aim The aim of the current study is to assess the tensile strength of polyglactin sutures following immersion in herbal mouthwashes. Methods Two commercially available synthetic braided polyglactin 910 absorbable sutures (Vicryl and Seamcryl) were chosen to assess their tensile strength following immersion in two kinds of herbal mouthwashes: nilavembu (Andrographis paniculata) silver nanoparticle mouthwash and clove-uni stevia mouthwash. The tensile strength of the sutures was evaluated using an ElectroPuls® E3000 (Instron, Norwood, MA, USA) universal testing machine. The data were transferred to IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), wherein the tensile strength values of Vicryl and Seamcryl after immersion in two different mouthwashes compared with control were statistically analysed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Results The tensile strength of Vicryl suture material was found to be higher in the clove-uni stevia mouthwash group than in the nilavembu silver nanoparticle mouthwash and control (p-value=0.000, which is statistically significant). The tensile strength of Seamcryl suture material was found to be higher in the clove-uni stevia mouthwash group than in the nilavembu silver nanoparticles mouthwash and control (p-value=0.001, which is statistically significant). Conclusion Nilavembu silver nanoparticle mouthwashes analysed in the present study decreased the tensile strength property of Vicryl suture material after immersion for 24 hours, whereas clove-uni stevia mouthwash was shown to increase the tensile strength of both Vicryl and Seamcryl suture materials. Therefore, the selection of suture material and the postoperative prescription of mouthwash should be considered for a better clinical outcome.