Therapeutic effects of Salvadora persica (Miswak) on patients with mild to moderate gingivitis.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Miswak is the public name of Salvadora persica, which is beneficial for dental treatments and can thus be used to treat gingivitis. This study compares the therapeutic effects of miswak (S. persica), toothbrush, S. persica mouthwash, and chlorhexidine mouthwash on patients with mild to moderate gingivitis by estimating gingival index and (debris) plaque index. Patients and Methods: The study is a selective sampling, cross-sectional, clinical comparative study of 50 systemically healthy patients in Erbil city. The patients were divided randomly into five groups, with each group having 10 patients. Group 1 used S. persica chewing stick only; group 2 used toothbrush only; group 3 used both S. persica and toothbrush, group 4 used S. persica mouthwash and toothbrush; while group 5 used chlorhexidine mouthwash and tooth-brush. The patients’ mouths were examined, recording clinical indices before and after four weeks from the administration of treatments. Results: There is significant improvement observed between groups 3 and 1 and groups 3 and 2 regarding gingival index. Moreover, there is significant improvement in debris (plaque) index between groups 2 and 3 and groups 2 and 1. Conclusion: The gingival index indicates that using S. persica and toothbrush together is better than using S. persica or toothbrush alone. Meanwhile, the debris index shows that using S. persica alone or using it with toothbrush is more effective than using toothbrush alone. Keywords: Salvadora persica, gingivitis, gingival index, debris index.