Abstract

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF EFFICACY OF ACACIA CATECHU WILLD AND CHLORHEXIDINE AS MOUTHWASH ON GINGIVITIS – A CLINICOMICROBIOLOGICAL STUDY

Dr. Vivekananda Marenahally Rangaraju*, Dr. Bindu James and Dr. Harsha Mysore Babu

Abstract

Background: A mouthwash is a medicated liquid which is held in the mouth and swished by the action of perioral musculature to eliminate the oral pathogens. A. catechu extract may act as a good oral hygiene product because of its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of A. catechu bark extract as mouthwash, compared to 0.2% CHX, on plaque and sulcular bleeding levels in 18-45 year old gingivitis patients. Materials and methods: An in vitro analysis was done to determine the MIC of A. catechu on S. mutans and S. aureus which was found to be 200mg/ml (20%) concentration which was further used for the in vivo study. In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 40 subjects were randomly assigned to two groups with 20 subjects in each group, Group AScaling + 20% A. catechu mouthwash and Group B- Scaling + 0.2% Chlorhexidine mouthwash. Clinical parameters like Plaque index (PI), Gingival index (GI), Sulcus Bleeding Index (SBI) and Microbiological analysis for the counts of S. mutans and S. aureus colonies were evaluated at baseline and 15th day. Results: Intergroup comparison showed statistically non-significant difference between the groups in reduction of scoring level from baseline to 15th day. The microbiological analysis also showed a statistically significant reduction in colonies of the S. mutans and S. aureus in both the groups at 15th day (p

Keywords: Acacia catechu, Mouthwash, Gingivitis, MIC, PI, GI, SBI.