Objectives: Periodontal diseases have multifactorial aetiology and are primarily caused by pathogenic bacteria. Using antibacterial mouthwashes as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control can effectively improve the quality of oral hygiene maintenance at home. This study aimed to assess the clinical efficacy of a propolis-containing mouthwash in gingivitis treatment.
Methods: This clinical trial evaluated 32 patients with gingivitis in two groups (n=16). The intervention group received a mouthwash containing propolis extract while the control group received the same mouthwash without the propolis extract. The papillary bleeding index (PBI), plaque index (PI) and tooth discoloration were evaluated in each patient at baseline (before the intervention) and at 15 and 30 days, after treatment. To facilitate the follow-up evaluations, the measurements were recorded for the tooth with the most inflamed gingiva in each quadrant (n = 128). The two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney test.
Results: The change in PI was 85.19 ± 51.6% in the propolis and 83.93 ± 36.1% in the placebo group with no significant difference between them (p = 0.91). The reduction in papillary bleeding index was significantly greater in the propolis group compared with the placebo group (p < 0.001). The change in tooth colour over time was significant in the placebo and insignificant in the propolis group (p = 0.14).
Conclusions: Considering the current findings, it seems that propolis mouthwash can effectively decrease gingival inflammation and bleeding, without causing tooth discoloration or staining. Considering the limitations of this study such as small sample size (based on participants and also number of teeth included in the study), future studies are warranted on this topic.
Keywords: gingivitis; mouthwashes; propolis.
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