Effect of Chlorhexidine, Ozonated Olive Oil and Olive Oil Mouthwash on Oral Health Status of Patients with Gingivitis: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Background: Effective plaque control is important to prevent gingival and periodontal diseases. In recent years, Olive oil and Ozonated olive oil are gaining paramount importance in dentistry because of its minimal side effects as compared to chemical agents.

Aim: To assess the effect of olive oil, ozonated olive oil, and chlorhexidine mouthwash on oral health status of patients with gingivitis.

Materials and Methods: The present double blinded, parallel designed, randomized clinical trial was carried out among 66 gingivitis patients in the Department of Periodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai, India. Participants were assigned to three groups: 22 participants in each group [Group A (CHX mouthwash), Group B (OOO - Ozonated olive oil) and Group C (OO - olive oil)]. Complete ultrasonic scaling was done and subjects were asked not to use any oral hygiene aids and recalled after three days and the gingival index and OHI(S) were noted (baseline). Then subjects were provided with respective mouthwash and instructed to use them for 15 days. Again, gingival index and OHI(S) were noted after 15 days. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Software, Version 23.0). One-way ANOVA was used to compare the mean values of gingival index between the groups. Tukey’s HSD post hoc test was done to find means that are significantly different from each other.Also, student’s paired t-test was used to compare the mean values of gingival index within the groups.

Results: A statistically significant difference was obtained between group A and C (p=0.000) and between Group B and C (p=0.000). However, there was a non-significant difference between mouthwash A and B (p>0.05) showing that OOO and chlorhexidine mouthwashes were equally effective in reducing gingivitis.

Conclusion: The present study suggests that efficacy of OOO was equally effective in reducing plaque and gingivitis as compared to chlorhexidine mouthwash. Therefore, oil pulling using OOO can be a better alternative to chlorhexidine mouthwash.