The antiplaque efficacy of propolis-based herbal toothpaste: A crossover clinical study.
BACKGROUND
In recent years, herbal products have been suggested as an economic, safe and probably effective alternative for prevention and control of various oral diseases. But still there are some products which need to be evaluated. Of lately, Propolis is one such product. To assess and compare the efficacy of herbal dentifrice containing Propolis with Miswak and Colgate total toothpastes in controlling plaque formation.


METHODS
A double blind, randomized, crossover study design was conducted among thirty healthy dental students. After oral prophylaxis all subjects were given a washout product for one week period. Subjects were then made to brush with (washout product) for 1 minute followed by 1 minute brushing with assigned test product. The baseline MGMPI plaque scores were recorded. Subjects were then refrained from oral hygiene for 24 hours, and were recalled to be re-disclosed and re-measured for plaque formation. This procedure was repeated according to crossover design after a washout period of (2 week). Statistical tests used were Krukalwallis and Wilcoxon sign rank test.


RESULTS
There was a significant difference in 24 hour score between the test products evaluated. When the change from baseline to 24 hours was analyzed, the test product Propolis resulted in a consistently and significantly (p < 0.05) lower MGMPI mean scores than the Colgate Total and Miswak toothpastes.


CONCLUSIONS
Propolis was found to be safe and effective in reducing plaque accumulation when compared to Miswak and Colgate total toothpaste.
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Nagesh
N
Bhat
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Salil
S
Bapat
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Kailash
K
Asawa
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Mridula
M
Tak
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Pulkit
P
Chaturvedi
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Vivek V
VV
Gupta
Department of Orthodontics, Al Azhar Dental College and Hospital, Kerela, India.
Pradeep P
PP
George
Colgate; Miswak; Propolis; modified gingival marginal plaque-index; plaque