COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ANTI PLAQUE AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFICACY OF MOMORIDCA CHARANTIA AND 0.2% CHLORHEXIDINE GLUCONATE MOUTHWASHES IN PATIENTS WITH GINGIVITIS: A DOUBLE-BLIND RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

Background: The prevalence of gingivitis is present worldwide. Therefore, the primary goal in patients with gingivitis is to control plaque formation & build-up to prevent gingivitis.Chemical agents have been advocated as adjuncts to mechanical methods to augment the plaque control.The global need for alternative treatment modalities, safe, effective, and economical products is the need of time. Bitter gourd is a medicinal plant which has the medicinal value.Studies evaluating its effects on gingivitis are scarce.Hencethe present study was aimed to compare and evaluate the efficacy of Momordica charantia (Bittergourd) as an anti-inflammatory agent with chlorhexidine gluconate in the treatment of plaque induced gingivitis.

Materials and method:In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 66 subjects were randomly assigned to two groups with 33 subjects in each group, Group I received Scaling+ Momordica Charantia mouthwash and Group II received Scaling + Chlorhexidine mouthwash. Clinical parameters Plaque index (PI), Gingival index (GI), were assessed at baselineand after3 weeks.

Results: The results of the current study showed that the mean scores of PI, GI,at baseline and after 3 weeks had consistently decreased in both Groups (P<0.001), which was statistically significant on intragroup analysis. The results from baseline to 3 weeks were comparable on intergroup analysis with no statistically significant difference.

Conclusion: Momordica charantia mouthwash exhibited almost similar anti‑plaque and antigingivitiseffect and can be used as an adjunct to scaling in the treatment of chronic generalised gingivitis.