The effect of Camellia Sinensis (green tea) mouthwash on plaque-induced gingivitis: a single-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial

ABSTRACT: Background and the purpose of the Study Complementary medicine received high attention during last decades. We aimed to assess the efficacy of Green tea mouthwash on plaque-induced gingivitis as the most common form of periodontal disease. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We designed a single blinded placebo controlled clinical trial. High school female students with chronic generalized plaque-induced gingivitis were distributed to receive either 5 ml of Green tea 5% two times/day or normal saline with the same dosage. Gingival index (Sillness & Loe), plaque index (Sillness & Loe) and bleeding index (Barnett) were recorded at baseline and five consecutive weeks. Comparisons were made by a general linear model, repeated measure ANOVA and a Bonferroni test applied for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Twenty five students were recruited in each arm of the study. A significant improvement was observed in all periodontal indices during the study (P < 0.001). Two groups were contrasted by changing patterns of alteration of indices (P < 0.05). Although total amount of improvement was higher in mouthwash group, the differences did not reach a statistically significant level (P > 0.05, observed power for GI: 0.09, PI: 0.11 and BI: 0.07). CONCLUSION: Green tea mouthwash may be a safe and feasible adjunct treatment for inflammatory periodontal diseases. A future larger scale study is warranted for better evaluating the effect of green tea.