comparison between the efficacy of herbal and conventional dentifrices on established gingivitis

background: bacteria in dental plaque are one of the main factors causing periodontal disease. the aim was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of antimicrobial dentifrices with herbal extracts and conventional toothpaste with no antimicrobial action for improvement of oral hygiene  and reduction of gingival inflammation. methods: 48 volunteers with chronic marginal gingivitis were randomly divided into three groups. groups 1 and 2 received herbal extract dentifrices. group 3 used a conventional dentifrice. subjects were asked to use the allocated dentifrice, three times a day, for 42 days. values of patient hygiene performance , approximal plaque , gingival , and sulcular bleeding indices  were assessed at baseline , after 14, 28 and 42 days. data were analyzed by student’s t-test (α = 0.05). results: oral hygiene (tooth brushing with dentifrices for 42 days) led to a significant decrease in plaque accumulation on smooth (by 61.2% and 57.2 in herbal test groups 1 and 2, respectively) and approximal (by 57.4 and 52.8% in herbal test groups 1 and 2, respectively) tooth surfaces, reduction of gingival inflammation (by 68.0 and 70.6% in herbal test groups 1 and 2, respectively) and gingival sulcus bleeding (by 79.5 and 81.2% in herbal test groups 1 and 2, respectively). final indices values in both herbal test groups were significantly (p < 0.001) lower compared to those at baseline and those after 42 days in the conventional group. conclusion: continuous application of herbal tooth paste provided significant improvement of oral hygiene level in patients with gingivitis.