Do natural ingredients in a dentifrice contribute to prevention of plaque and gingivitis?

Abstract

Objective: To test the effectiveness of a dentifrice containing the turmeric and licorice extract compared to a control for preventing plaque and gingivitis over a fourmonth period.Material and methods: Ninety (non-dental) participants with moderate gingival inflammation (≥ 40%) were selected. The triple blind study consisted of two phases, namely at first a 3-week pre-experimental phase of using an oxygenating and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthrinse. Secondly, a 4-month experimental period in which participants were randomly assigned to a test or control group. All were instructed to brush their teeth twice daily for 2 minutes with their assigned dentifrice. Gingival bleeding (BI), plaque (PI) and gingivitis (GI) were assessed.Results: Eighty participants completed the protocol. At the first assessment in the pre-experimental phase, the mean scores of all indices showed no differences for the two groups. At the second session, the values of all three parameters had decreased significantly (p < 0.001). At the last session, the BI values were 0.52(0.25) for the test group and 0.56(0.25) for the control, the mean GI was 0.27(0.17) for the test group and 0.31(0.16) for the control, and for PI the scores were 1.89(0.46) for the test group and 1.98(0.43) for the control group. Statistical comparison of the scores for the two groups at each stage of the study showed no significant difference for any of the parameters. Conclusion:Within the limits of the current study design, dentifrice formulation and concentration of turmeric/licorice extracts, the results show that the adjuvant effect of the natural ingredients in the test dentifrice was not evident on clinical parameters of gingivitis and plaque.

Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma: The popular occurrence of herbal medicine applied in classical prescriptions

“…These properties include sedative activity, increased memory retention, and protective activity against skeletal muscle and cerebral injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion. Furthermore, GRER has been used to treat depression, convulsions, inflammation, allergies, peptic ulcers, and dental diseases (M. N. Asl & Hosseinzadeh, 2008; Hayashi & Sudo, 2009; H. Hosseinzadeh et al, 2005; Messier et al, 2012; Tao et al, 2016; Valkenburg et al, 2021). When combined with levodopa in Chinese herbal prescriptions, GRER is beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (H. Liu et al, 2020).…”