BACKGROUND: Herbal mouthwash is considered as an alternative regimen in maintaining oral hygiene. Tea contains compounds such as catechin and tannin which possess bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect which helps to prevent dental caries. AIM: This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness between rinsing with steeping black tea and green tea solution in decreasing the amount of Streptococcus mutans. METHODS: This is an experimental study with pre and post-test controlled group design. The sample were 60 college students from North Sumatera University which were then divided into three groups: oral rinsing with steeping black tea (treatment group), oral rinsing with steeping green tea (treatment group) and oral rinsing with listerine (control group). Saliva collection was carried out before treatment (pre-test/baseline) and after treatment (post-test). Treatment group was instructed to rinse 15 ml of steeping black and green tea solution whereas control group were instructed to rinse 15 ml listerine for 30 seconds and get rid of it. The saliva samples before and after treatment were brought to the microbiology laboratorium for Streptococcus mutans amount calculation using Total Plate Count (TPC) method. A T-test were used to determine the difference between rinsing with black tea and green tea and Kruskalwalis used to determine the difference between rinsing with steeping black tea, steeping green tea and aquadest towards the mean amount of bacteria before and after treatment. RESULT: The results showed significant reduction in amount of Streptococcus mutans in both treatment group where black tea group before treatment 28.90 x 103 ± 7.152 x 103 CFU/ml and after treatment 21.60 x 103 ± 6.295 x 103 CFU/ml (p < 0.05) and green tea group before treatment 70.15 x 103 ± 34.814 x 103 CFU/ml and after treatment 54.85 x 103 ± 31.451 x 103 CFUml (p < 0.05). The results in control group also showed reduction in amount of Streptococcus mutans where before treatment 25.80 x 103 ± 12.190 x 103 CFU/ml and after treatment 11.30 x 103 ± 8.228 x 103 CFU/ml (p > 0.000). Statistical analysis revealed that significant difference was found in the mean reduction of total Streptococcus mutans before and after in black tea group 7.30 x 103 ± 3.062 x 103 CFU/ml and green tea group 15.30 x 103 ± 11.045 x 103 CFU/ml (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that rinsing with steeping green tea solution has more effectiveness in decreasing the total Streptococcus mutans as compared to black tea solution.

Abstract__ Herbal mouthwash is considered as an alternative regimen in maintaining oral hygiene. Tea contains compounds such as catechin and tannin which possess bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect which helps to prevent dental caries. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness between rinsing with steeping black tea and green tea solution in decreasing the amount of oral bacteria. This is an experimental study with pre and post test controlled group design. The sample were 90 Junior High School students from Swasta Namira School which were then divided into three groups: oral rinsing with steeping black tea (treatment group), oral rinsing with steeping green tea (treatment group) and oral rinsing with aquadest (control group). Saliva collection was carried out before treatment (pre test/ baseline) and after treatment (post test). Treatment group was instructed to rinse 15 ml of steeping black and green tea solution whereas control group were instructed to rinse 15 ml aquadest for 30 seconds and get rid of it. The saliva samples before and after treatment were brought to the microbiology laboratorium for bacteria amount calculation using Total Plate Count (TPC) method. A T-test were used to determine the difference between rinsing with black tea and green tea and Kruskalwalis used to determine the difference between rinsing with steeping black tea, steeping green tea and aquadest towards the mean amount of bacteria before and after treatment. The results showed significant reduction in amount of bacteria in both treatment group where black tea group before treatment 1002.13x10 ±494.55x103 CFU/ml (p>0.05). Thus, it can be concluded that rinsing with steeping black tea solution has the same effectiveness in decreasing the total oral bacteria as compared to green tea solution.

Dental caries is a disease that is mostly found in the oral cavity together with periodontal disease, so it is a major problem of dental and oral health. Based on the results of basic health research (RISKESDAS) in 2007 in 28 Indonesian provinces, it was found that the prevalence of caries in Indonesia was 67.4%, while the prevalence of active caries (untreated caries) was 43.4%. Many children have cavities and residual roots. Children are not able to independently maintain the health of their teeth and mouth. Apart from parents, school teachers have a big role in improving children's oral and dental health. The role of the teacher is meaningful in this case, because the teacher will meet almost every day with the child. However, the reality is that school teachers do not have skills in maintaining oral health, and the level of knowledge about oral health is still low. Therefore, community service for children is needed in the form of dental health education and joint tooth brushes. Besides that, skills training on brushing teeth also needs to be carried out for teachers. The aim of this service is to improve children's dental health by providing dental health education, joint brushing and increasing teacher knowledge and skills in helping to brush teeth in school children. The method of implementing community service is in the form of dental health education for children, and conducting training for school teachers on oral and dental health. It is hoped that with the dedication carried out, there will be an increase in dental and oral health in children and an increase in knowledge and skills of school teachers.

Clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) is essentially aimed at increasing public awareness to want to live a clean and healthy life. PHBS in educational facilities should be prioritized considering that children have returned to school during the new normal period of the corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic. According to the WHO, washing hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub can kill the COVID-19 virus. Good hand washing is the first line of defense against the spread of many diseases. Hand washing can help prevent the spread of illnesses ranging from the common cold to more serious infections. Prevention of coronavirus disease also comes from good immunity. In addition to adequate nutritional intake, oral health is also needed to obtain a healthy immune system. The oral cavity is a part of the body that functions as a pathway for food and drink to enter the body and plays a role in increasing immunity. On the other hand, it is also the 'entrance' for various pathogens that cause infection. Therefore, community service for children is needed in the form of habituation efforts to wash hands and brush teeth properly. The purpose of this service is to improve the health status of children by building hand washing and toothbrushing facilities as an effort to habituate clean and healthy living behavior in preventing the spread of the Covid-19 disease. It is hoped that with the dedication carried out, there will be changes in behavior and improvement of health in children at school.