Effect of Two Different Mouth Rinses on S. mutans Counts in Subjects Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment – A Pilot Study

The study is thus aimed to assess and compare the efficacy of Herbostra oil pulling mouthwash with Chlorhexidine mouthwash in reducing plaque accumulation around orthodontic brackets. A total of 20 patients were considered in this study randomly assigned into Group I (experimental group - Herbostra oil pulling mouthwash) and Group II (reference group-0.2% Chlorhexidine mouthwash). The plaque index scores were recorded in each individual at baseline (pre) and after 3 weeks (post). Dental plaque samples were collected around the orthodontic brackets at the cervical region of maxillary upper molars and lower incisors by cotton swabbing method and evaluated for the presence of microflora. Paired sample t-test for Streptococcus mutans count showed that statistically significant difference only within the group II (p=0.000) (Chlorhexidine group) and there was no significant difference within the group I (p=0.103) (Herbostra group). Paired sample t-test for plaque index score shows statistically significant difference within the groups (0.000).Independent t test showed statistically significant difference in the levels of Streptococcus mutans count after 3 weeks between the two groups (p=0.000) with the mean values of (2.230±0.5056), (1.080±0.3458) in group I and group II respectively. From this study we concluded that, even though there was a reduction in plaque scores and S. mutans count with Herbostra oil pulling mouthwash but it was not as effective as Chlorhexidine mouth rinse.