Effectiveness of three mouthwashes – Manuka honey, Raw honey, and Chlorhexidine on plaque and gingival scores of 12–15-year-old school children: A randomized controlled field trial

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of three types of mouthwashes manuka honey (MH), raw honey (RH), and chlorhexidine (CHX) on plaque and gingival scores of 12–15-year-old government school children. STUDY DESIGN: This study was a double-blind, randomized controlled field trial conducted in Belagavi city, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and thirty-five government school children aged 12–15 years were randomly selected and allocated into three groups, RH, MH, and CHX mouthwash groups. Ten milliliters each of honey-based mouthwash formulation and CHX mouthwashes (0.2%) were administered according to the group allocation twice daily for 21 days. All the children were examined at baseline, 22(nd) day (after discontinuation of mouthwash) and 28(th) day (1 week after discontinuation of mouthwash) for Gingival (Loe and silness 1963) and Plaque Index (Silness and Loe, 1964). RESULTS: Descriptive statistics was applied for distribution of study participants according to age and gender. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test and repeated measures ANOVA test followed by Bonferroni's post hoc were applied for inter- and intragroup comparison, respectively. Statistically significant reductions (P < 0.001) in plaque and gingival scores were observed in all the three types of mouthwash groups at the end of the 22(nd) day and 28(th) day. MH and RH mouthwash demonstrated equal effectiveness, whereas CHX mouthwash showed the maximum reduction in clinical parameters. CONCLUSION: Honey-based mouthwash showed a promising antimicrobial effect on dental caries and plaque and gingival scores.