Health from the Hive: 5% Propolis Mouth Wash as an Adjunct in the Treatment of Chronic Generalized Gingivitis-A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Gingival diseases affect 80% of the adult population in India and are considered to be plaque initiated inflammatory conditions with the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The term, Gingivitis means inflammation of the gums or gingiva. Gingivitis is a non-destructive type of periodontal disease if left untreated gingivitis can progress to periodontitis. Thus it can eventually lead to loss of teeth. It is a well-known fact that all periodontitis are initiated by gingivitis. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of 5% propolis mouth wash in chronic generalized gingivitis and also to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of 5% propolis mouth wash with respect to the chlorhexidine mouth wash. Method: A total of 45 randomly selected patients (lottery method) between the age group of 18-70 years were selected for the study and grouped as follows: Group I with 15 patients who were treated with 5% propolis mouth wash. Group II with 15 patients were treated with chlorhexidine mouth wash controlled group and Group III with 15 patients were treated with normal saline (placebo). Result: The results indicated that there was a significant improvement in clinical parameters (p<0.05) in group 1 at the end of the study. Conclusion: Our study data showed that propolis mouthwash is more effective than other mouth washes on plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation. The study suggests that propolis can be used as a natural mouthwash, an alternative to chemical mouthwashes, e.g., chlorhexidine.

Comparative evaluation of mouthwashes containing propolis and chlorhexidine for controlling inflammation resulting from plaque accumulation in patients with chronic gingivitis

“…Another result of our study, in comparing the mean changes of the GI after using mouthwashes, propolis reduced the GI similar to CHX, and no significant difference was found, consistent with the results of the study by Savita et al 17 Contrary to our results, studies by Dodwad and Kukreja, 19 Arjun et al, 18 Krishna et al, 20 and Porwal et al 22 showed that propolis reduced GI significantly better than CHX, which might be explained by the effect of regional flora on honeybee nutrition and the production of propolis with different compositions and effects.…”

“…In the present study, in comparison of PI and GI of the whole oral cavity before and after using 0.2% CHX mouthwash and propolis mouthwash, both mouthwashes significantly reduced the mean PI and G, consistent with studies by Savita et al, 17 Arjun et al, 18 Dodwad and Kukreja, 19 and Krishna et al 20 …”

“…According to the results of our study, in comparison of 0.2% CHX mouthwash with propolis mouthwash in terms of the effect on PI, both mouthwashes reduced the PI, but CHX was better than propolis, similar to the results reported by Murray et al 21 and Dodwad and Kukreja. 19 However, Krishna et al 20 and Arjun et al 18 showed that propolis was significantly better than CHX in reducing plaque accumulation. Also, Savita et al, 17 Porwal et al, 22 and Santiago et al 23 concluded that propolis reduced the PI similar to CHX.…”

Exploring the Potential of Bee-Derived Antioxidants for Maintaining Oral Hygiene and Dental Health: A Comprehensive Review

“…Mouth rinse has been quite popular due to its ease of use; however, chemical compounds found in mouth rinses such as cetylpyridinium chloride, chlorhexidine and zinc chloride may have side effects if used for long term [257,258]. Propolis-based mouth rinse or mouthwashes have been studied by several researchers and observed great potential in reducing dental plaque and gingival inflammation [259][260][261][262][263]. A patent (CN104739738A) was granted for a mouthwash made with propolis to improve oral health and to treat oral diseases [264].…”

Challenge in Propolis Biocompatibility as a Potential Medicament in Dental Medicine

“…a) Research by Kripal et al [63] assessed the effectiveness of propolis 5% mouthwash in chronic generalized gingivitis and compared the effectiveness of 5% propolis mouthwash to chlorhexidine mouthwash. This study was conducted on a sample of 45 patients randomly selected in the 18-70 years age group, divided into 3 groups: Group I with 15 patients treated with 5% propolis mouthwash, group II with 15 patients treated with the control group chlorhexidine gargle, and group III with 15 patients treated with normal saline (placebo).…”