the effect of german chamomile mouthwash on dental plaque and gingival inflammation

dental plaque is a well known etiologic factor for gingivitis. recently, herbal extracts are a matter of scientific interest to inhibit plaque accumulation on teeth. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of german chamomile (gc) mouth wash on plaque and gingival indices. twenty five gingivitis patients (15 female and 10 male, mean age 27±7.76 years) participated in this controlled, double blind cross-over study. the subjects used either gc or a control rinse for 2 min twice a day during a 4 weeks period. the other mouth rinse was used after a wash-out period of 4 weeks in the same way. the plaque and gingival indices were recorded at baseline and after each experimental or wash-out period. furthermore, stain indices for intensity and extend were recorded to evaluate the tooth staining effects of the mouthrinses. the mean reduction in plaque and gingival scores were determined by using the test or control mouthwash and statistically analyzed by paired sample t- test. the stain intensity and extend in each period of the study were also analyzed by the two-way anova. the gc mouthwash lowered both plaque and gingival scores significantly in comparison to the control rinse (p?0.001), whilst there was no significant difference in stain intensity or extend between the baseline and after each period of the study. there was also no report of any adverse reactions during the use of mouth rinses in this the study. using gc mouthwash appears to offer benefit in plaque and gingival reduction without any significant adverse effects on tooth staining.