Effect of an herbal mouthwash on periodontal indices in patients with plaque-induced gingivitis: A cross-over clinical trial

Background. Recent advances in alternative medicine have led to the introduction of various new herbal products for treating gingivitis as the most prevalent gingival disease. The present study clinically evaluated the effect of a herbal mouthwash consisting of 5 herbal extracts (Myrtus communis, Quercus brantii, Punica granatum, Portulaca olerace, and Boswellia serrata) on periodontal indices. Methods. Fifty patients with plaque-induced gingivitis were included in this randomized, dou­ble-blinded clinical trial and divided into two groups. Following scaling and root planing (SRP), they were prescribed 0.2% chlorhexidine (CHX) (group 1) and herbal mouthwash (group 2) twice a day for 14 days. Both groups received saline mouthwash for the subsequent 14 days (wash-out time). Then, they used the mouthwashes in a cross-over manner for an additional two weeks. Probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque index (PI) were recorded at baseline and after each period of mouthwash use. The data were analyzed by SPSS software, using generalized estimating equation (GEE) linear regression and paired t-test. P<0.05 was considered sta­tistically significant. Results. Both groups exhibited statistically significant improvements in the periodontal indices compared to the baseline (P<0.05); however, there were no significant differences between the two study groups in this regard. Conclusion. The experimental herbal mouthwash improved the periodontal condition in plaque-induced gingivitis after two weeks, comparable to the effect of %0.2 CHX mouthwash in terms of PPD, BOP, PI, and GI.