The effect of two different dental gels and a mouthwash on plaque and gingival scores: a six-week clinical study

Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of two gel formulations containing chlorhexidine gluconate and neem extract with a commercially available chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash. Method: An open labelled randomised six-week clinical study with parallel group design in 48 subjects divided into four groups. Plaque accumulation and gingival condition were recorded using plaque index and gingival index. On the basis of mean baseline plaque and gingival scores, subjects were allocated to four different groups, using their assigned products twice a day, before bed and after breakfast. Plaque and gingival scores were recorded after three and six weeks. Results: Mean plaque and gingival scores were reduced over the six-week trial period for experimental and control groups. Chlorhexidine gluconate gel reduced the plaque and gingival scores significantly more (P < 0.05) than the chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash. Neem extract gel also showed significant (p < 0.05) reduction in plaque and gingival scores when compared with the control group. But there was no significant difference between the groups treated with chlorhexidine gel and neem extract gel. Conclusion: The results of this clinical study indicate that better therapeutic efficacy can be achieved using gels for treating oral infections than conventional treatments using mouthwash.