Control of Plaque and Gingivitis by an Herbal Toothpaste - A Randomised Controlled Study

To compare the efficacy of an herbal toothpaste with two other chemically active toothpastes regarding plaque and gingivitis control.

Seventy-six (27 females and 49 males, mean age 47.8 years, range 40-58 years) of 84 initial participants with slight and moderate chronic periodontitis used standardised manual toothbrushes and their usual technique for daily manual mechanical plaque control for 24 weeks of supportive periodontal therapy. The volunteers were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: group 1 used the herbal toothpaste, group 2 a triclosan/copolymer toothpaste, and group 3 an amine/stannous fluoride toothpaste. OHI, API, SBI, BOP, PD and AL were recorded at baseline and after 6, 12 and 24 weeks (PD and AL only at baseline). The Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U-, Friedman, and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis.

Moderate changes occurred in API and OHI in all groups. The herbal toothpaste resulted in significantly lower API and OHI in comparison to the fluoride toothpaste during the study period (p = 0.001 and 0.049, minimum and maximum of cases, respectively). SBI was significantly improved in all groups starting after 12 weeks (p = 0.001 and 0.033). BOP remained largely unchanged in all groups and was always significant lower in the herbal toothpaste group (p = 0.001 and 0.036).

During the study period of 24 weeks, the herbal toothpaste was as good as the control toothpastes. No side effects were seen. In terms of improving periodontal conditions, the tested herbal toothpaste could be a suitable alternative to conventional toothpastes with artificial chemical ingredients.