Effectiveness of two different herbal toothpaste formulations in the reduction of plaque and gingival inflammation in patients with established gingivitis – A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundPlant based toothpastes have received great attention in reducing gingival inflammation. Studies show contrasting results regarding the effectiveness of these toothpastes. In the present study, the effectiveness of two herbal tooth paste formulations in the reduction of plaque and gingival inflammation was assessed. Nicotine content in the toothpastes was assessed using GCMS.Material and methods50 patients with established gingivitis were included in the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to either the test (Parodontax®) or the control (Colgate® herbal) group. There were 5 drop outs in the study in the control group after baseline examination. No prophylaxis was undertaken prior to commencement of the study, and no attempt was made to modify the participant's oral hygiene habits. A brief case history was recorded at baseline. The Turesky (1970) modification of the Quigley, Hein (1962) Plaque index (PI), the Loe and Silness (1963) Gingival Index (GI). Unstimulated salivary samples were collected at baseline and 30th day and the pH was measured using a salivary pH meter (CL-51B; Systronics New Delhi, India).Comparisons (intergroup and intragroup) were analysed by the t-test. Groups were also compared regarding age by means of t test, and association between group and sex was verified by means of the chi-square test. All statistical tests employed a level of significance of α = 0.05. There were reports of presence of nicotine and its derivatives in herbal toothpaste after the study was nearing completion. Hence we assessed for the presence of nicotine in both the toothpaste using the methods described by Aggarwal et al.24ResultsWhen the two groups (test and control groups) were evaluated, after 30 days, the test group presented an average 21.08% reduction in plaque and the control group showed 31.85% reduction in plaque scores. The mean reduction in gingival index (GI) scores was 25.92% and 19.14% in the test and control groups respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups in GI, PI and salivary pH levels. There was no evidence of nicotine or related compounds in both the tooth paste.ConclusionBoth herbal based dentifrices reduce plaque levels and gingival inflammation. But, it did not alter the pH of the saliva. However, there were no additional benefits of the Parodontax® toothpaste over Colgate® Herbal toothpaste. There was no evidence of nicotine or related compounds in both herbal toothpaste.

The efficacy of baking soda dentifrice in controlling plaque and gingivitis: A systematic review

“…Only in one study did four participants discontinue the study because of disliking the dentifrice taste . In another study, the participants complained of an unpleasant taste in the initial period when using a BS‐DF . Ulcerations were reported in one study, but they appeared unrelated to the trial and eventually .…”

“…The search of the MEDLINE‐PubMed and Cochrane‐CENTRAL databases resulted in 184 unique papers. Manual searching of the reference lists of the final selected papers provided two additional relevant papers, Al‐Kholani et al, listed by Hosadurga et al and Akwagyiram et al, listed by Bosma et al Altogether, 21 eligible publications were found . Among these, Putt et al and Mason et al provided five and two sub‐studies, respectively, within their main publications.…”

“…Smoking status was generally unclear. Hosadurga et al specifically excluded smokers, and only Lomax et al, Jose et al and Akwagyiram et al reported the smoking status of the included participants. The duration of follow‐up studies ranged from 1 month to 6 months.…”

“…Twelve papers mentioned evaluation for possible adverse effects. Only in one study did four participants discontinue the study because of disliking the dentifrice taste .…”

Inactivation of Human Influenza Virus Using Gamma Irradiation

“…Physical treatments such as UV rays also impair the effective uptake of inactivated viruses by antigen-presenting cells through interfere with viral lipid membrane activity. Thereby, the efficacy of inactivated vaccines may be reduced by these structural alterations [2,11,22]. In contrast, the virucidal effect of gamma irradiation is mainly related to the viral nucleic acid damage [19].…”