The efficacy of asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum resin) versus chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash on dental plaque and gingivitis: A randomized double-blind controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionMicrobial plaque is known to be the most important causative agent of periodontal disease. Since plaque control by mechanical methods is not enough to keep the gingival health in many people, attention has been brought to medicinal treatments, including mouthwashes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of asafoetida versus chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) mouthwash. MethodsThis study was a double-blind randomized active-controlled clinical trial. One hundred and twenty six patients were randomly assigned into two groups of asafoetida and CHG mouthwashes. They were advised to use 15 ml of their prescribed mouthwash twice daily for a period of 7 days. Before enrollment and then at the end of the 7th day of intervention, the plaque index (PI) and modified gingival index (MGI) were measured. Moreover, safety measures were monitored during this period. ResultsAfter the intervention period, improvement of MGI mean difference was observed in both of the asafoetida and CHG groups (0.9 ± 0.7 vs. 0.4 ± 0.5, respectively). Also, there was an improvement regarding PI mean difference in both of the asafoetida and CHG groups (1.8 ± 0.6 vs. 0.9 ± 0.6, respectively). However, mean differences of MGI and PI in the asafoetida group showed a significant reduction, compared to the CHG group (P < 0.0001). It should be noted that no serious side effects were observed. ConclusionConsidering the results, it seems that asafoetida mouthwash can be recommended as an efficient herbal mouthwash for improving the indices of gingival health. However, future studies on larger cohorts with longer intervention periods are necessitated.