Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of 1% Stabilized Chlorine dioxide (ClO 2) mouthrinse as compared with 0.2% Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) mouthrinse on tongue coat assessed by N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide (BANA) assay in the treatment of halitosis. Materials and methods: Twenty systemically healthy subjects with self-reported halitosis were enrolled in the study as per the inclusion criteria. The participants were assigned to use either aqueous 1% stabilized ClO 2 mouthrinse (Group I) or aqueous 0.2% CHX mouthrinse (Group II). The study was conducted in two phases of 15 days duration each with an intervening washout period of 7 days. Subjects were assessed at baseline and 15 days in each phase for oral hygiene using Plaque index (PI) and Winkel tongue coating index (WTCI). Volatile sulfur compound (VSC) in exhaled breath was measured using portable sulfide monitor. On the 15th day, tongue coating samples were assessed for both Groups using chairside BANA assay. Results: Both Groups I and II demonstrated significant reduction in PI scores at 15 days as compared with baseline. However, reduction in PI score was found to be statistically significant in favor of Group I as compared with Group II after 15 days (p-value: 0.001). Reduction in WTCI scores was statistically nonsignificant for both Groups I and II at 15 days (p-value: 0.094). Qualitative VSC scores by portable sulfide monitor on assessment of exhaled breath was statistically nonsignificant for both Groups I and II at 15 days (p-value: 0.131). The BANA scores for tongue coat samples from both Groups were comparable at 15 days with no statistical significance (p-value: 0.503). Conclusion: The observation from present study settings would lead to infer that dental plaque inhibition, tongue coat inhibition, and VSC production are comparable for both the Groups in the treatment of physio logical halitosis.

Aim: To clinically and microbiologically evaluate and compare the plaque inhibitory effect of commercially available herbal extract containing fluoridated dentifrice to that of commercially available fluoridated dentifrice in a healthy dental cohort. Materials and methods:A single-center, double-blinded, prospective, cohort, crossover study was conducted involving 25 healthy dental student volunteers meeting inclusion criteria. Two commercially available dentifrices: (Dentifrice A: Commercially available fluoridated dentifrice; and Dentifrice B: Commercially available fluoridated dentifrice containing Bromelain, Papain, Neem, and Meswak were selected as the test products. The study was conducted in two phases of 3 weeks duration each and a washout period of 1 week. Participants were assessed at baseline and 3 weeks using Plaque index (PI) and Gingival index (GI). At 3 weeks, a supragingival plaque was collected from the lingual surface of right mandibular first molar and microbial analysis was done. Microbiological counts were expressed as colony-forming units (CFU) per sample.Results: On intergroup comparison, it was observed that mean reduction in PI for Dentifrice B is significantly more than that of Dentifrice A (p-value: 0.000021). There was no significant difference between the mean reduction in the GI of both Dentifrice A and Dentifrice B (p-value: 0.3040). On intergroup comparison of CFUs obtained after 3 weeks, Dentifrice B showed significantly less viable CFUs than that of Dentifrice A (p-value: 9.42E-08). Conclusion:In the current study settings, it was observed that herbal extracts in dentifrices have an additive effect with fluoride in plaque inhibition.

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Aim:To compare plaque removal and wear between charcoal infused bristle toothbrushes (T1) and nylon bristle toothbrushes (T2) in a randomized clinical crossover study. Materials and methods:A cross-over study was conducted in 2 phases of 6 weeks duration each with an intervening 2-week washout. Twenty-five participants meeting inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into groups A (13) and B (12). In phase 1: group A was assigned T1 and group B was assigned T2. Toothbrushing was advised twice daily for 2 minutes by modified bass technique after meals. At baseline, 3 weeks and 6 weeks the wear index (WI), plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were recorded. Following washout in phase 2 group A was assigned T2 and group B was assigned T1 and the same study protocol was followed.Results: Intra-group comparison between baseline, 3 and 6 weeks by the paired t-test resulted in significant reduction in PI, GI and increase in WI (p <0.05) for T1 and T2. Inter-group comparison using the unpaired t-test resulted in WI for T1 being significantly higher (p <0.05) at 3 weeks and lower at 6 weeks (p <0.05) compared to T2. PI for T1 was significantly higher at 3 weeks (p <0.05) and lower at 6 weeks (p <0.05) compared to T2. No significant difference in GI scores between T1 and T2 at 3 and 6 weeks was observed (p >0.05). Conclusion:Charcoal infused bristles demonstrated less wear and more plaque removal compared to nylon bristles.Clinical significance: Charcoal infused bristles demonstrate less wear compared to nylon bristles.