Comparison of effectiveness of two herbal mouthrinses (Green tea and Guava)on plaque and gingival scores among 12-15 years old school children in Belgaum city-A Randomized Controlled Field Trial.

Present study was a  randomized controlled field trial conducted to compare the effectiveness of green tea, guava and Chlorhexidine mouthwashes on plaque scores , gingival scores  among 12-15 years old school children in Belgaum city.  Ethical clearance was obtained. Two stage random sampling was done. One  school was randomly selected from the  schools of Belgaum city. Permissions from the headmaster and Consent from the parents was obtained. All the children aged between 12-15 years were screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria. From the eligible candidates, a sample of 90 was randomly selected. These 90 participants were randomized into 3 groups- Those receiving green tea  mouthwash– Group I (n= 30) ,Those receiving guava  mouthwash – Group II (n= 30)  and those receiving Chlorhexidine mouthwash- Group III (n= 30). Baseline data for plaque index, gingival index  was recorded for all the children selected.All the children were administered green tea , guava  and Chlorhexidine mouthwashes according to the group they were assigned ,  5ml for 30 seconds twice daily for 21 days and again plaque index, gingival index  were  recorded. It was concluded that all the three mouthwashes were effective antiplaque and antigingivitis agent.