title: Effectiveness of herbal and fluoridated toothpaste on plaque and gingival scores among residents of a working women's hostel - a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effectiveness of herbal and fluoridated toothpastes on plaque and gingival scores among 18- to 25-year-old female participants residing in a working women's hostel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty participants residing in a working women's hostel in Belgaum city, aged between 18 and 25 years, comprised the study population. The 60 participants were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was asked to use a herbal toothpaste (Himalaya Herbal Healthcare) and the control group a fluoridated toothpaste (Colgate Dental Cream) twice a day for 6 weeks. The plaque and gingival indices were recorded according to Silness and Löe (1964) and Löe and Silness (1963), respectively, at baseline, 3 weeks and 6 weeks of usage of the toothpastes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Baseline plaque and gingival scores were 1.53 ± 0.9 and 1.22 ± 0.13 for the control group and 1.30 ± 0.15 and 1.19 ± 0.12 for the experimental group, respectively. At 6 weeks, plaque and gingival scores were 0.86 ± 0.18 and 0.80 ± 0.2 for the control group and 0.99 ± 0.14 and 0.9 ± 0.21 for the experimental group, respectively. Statistically significant differences were obtained before and after the intervention in both groups (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The herbal toothpaste was as effective as the conventionally formulated dentifrice in controlling plaque and gingivitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, Belgaum, India. drmamatahebbal@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mamata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hebbal
authors.forename: Anil V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Ankola
authors.forename: Ratika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Shefali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011638:Public Housing; D014100:Toothpastes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014931:Women, Working; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D014100:Toothpastes; D005459:Fluorides