Efficacy of Ocimum Sanctum as a Pre-procedural Mouth Rinse in Reducing Aerosol Contamination Produced by Ultrasonic Scaler: a Clinical and Microbiological Study.

The spread of infection through aerosol and splatter has long been considered one of the main reason for the possible transmission of infectious agents and their ill effects on the health of patients and dental health care professionals. Aerosol and splatter are a concern in dentistry because of their potential effects on the health of immuno-compromised patients and of dental personnel. These aerosols may be inhaled into the lungs to reach the alveoli or may come in contact with the skin or mucous membranes. Most of the aerosols produced during treatment procedures have a diameter of 5μm or less, and these can cause respiratory or other health problems because they can penetrate into, and remain within the lungs. The oral cavity consists of billions and billions of microorganisms, which can get transmitted from one person to another through water contamination, surface contact or through aerosols. Aerosols are generated during tooth preparation with a rotary instrument or air abrasion, during the use of an air-water syringe, ultrasonic scaler, and while doing air polishing. Miller (1976) found that aerosols generated from patients' mouths contained up to a million bacteria per cubic foot of air.

All health care professionals including the dentists, dental hygienists, and nurses can get exposed to microorganisms present in patients' blood, saliva and from instruments, which can lead to cross infections. The oral cavity harbors numerous bacteria and viruses from the respiratory tract, dental plaque, and oral fluids. Viruses which are present in aerosols such as human immunodeficiency virus hepatitis B can penetrate the conjunctiva, respiratory tract of clinician, assistant, and patients. In addition to this, some viruses such as mumps, rubella, and influenza also pose a serious risk to health care professionals. Any dental procedure that has the potential to aerosolize saliva will cause contamination of air with organisms from some or all of these sources. Other studies have also reported an association of these aerosols with respiratory infections, ophthalmic and skin infections, tuberculosis, and hepatitis B. Current research suggests that having patients use an antimicrobial rinse before treatment may decrease microbial aerosols.

Chlorhexidine gluconate, a bisbiguanide, is considered to be the gold standard of antimicrobial rinses because of broad-spectrum antibacterial activity but, it also has some side effects, notably tooth staining, taste alteration, enhanced supragingival calculus formation and less commonly desquamation of the oral mucosa. Also other then Chlorhexidine Providone iodine and essential oils are commonly used as mouthrinse.

In the emerging era of pharmaceuticals, herbal medicines with their naturally occurring active ingredients offer a gentle and enduring way for the restoration of health by the least harmful method. Herbal medicine is both promotive and preventive in its approach. Also, herbal mouth rinses with their natural ingredients offer a safe and effective option as mouthrinse.

The herbal mouthwash used in this study is made from natural herb extracts of Ocimum sanctum. Ocimum sanctum is commonly known as 'Tulsi' and popularly known as 'The Queen of Herbs', and the "Mother Medicine of Nature" due to its perceived medicinal qualities. Tulsi extract has been widely used in traditional medicine and human clinical trial without significant side effects. Scientific investigations during the last several decades have shown that various parts of Ocimum sanctum, including leaves, stem, root, flowers, and seed, have a plethora of biological and pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial etc.