Effect of an herbal mouthwash on periodontal indices in patients with plaque-induced gingivitis: A cross-over clinical trial

Recent advances in alternative medicine have led to the introduction of various new herbal products for treating gingivitis as the most prevalent gingival disease. The present study clinically evaluated the effect of a herbal mouthwash consisting of 5 herbal extracts (Myrtus communis, Quercus brantii, Punica granatum, Portulaca olerace, and Boswellia serrata) on periodontal indices. Fifty patients with plaque-induced gingivitis were included in this randomized, dou-ble-blinded clinical trial and divided into two groups. Following scaling and root planing (SRP), they were prescribed 0.2% chlorhexidine (CHX) (group 1) and herbal mouthwash (group 2) twice a day for 14 days. Both groups received saline mouthwash for the subsequent 14 days (wash-out time). Then, they used the mouthwashes in a cross-over manner for an additional two weeks. Probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque index (PI) were recorded at baseline and after each period of mouthwash use. The data were analyzed by SPSS software, using generalized estimating equation (GEE) linear regression and paired t-test. P