Efficacy of Punicagranatum: “Nature’s herbal solution” in the treatment of chronic gingivitis: A clinical study

Introduction: Periodontal diseases are chronic bacterial infections that lead to gingival inflammation, periodontal tissue destruction, and alveolar bone loss. Gingivitis is one of the most prevalent dental diseases. Scaling and root planning along may not achieve best clinical outcome therefore use of adjuncts like mouthwashes, laser, LDD etc can lead to better results. Pomegranate a medicinal fruit, used as an astringent, hemostatic, antidiabetic, antihelmintic, and for diarrhoea and dysentery too. Aim: This research was aimed at investigating antigingivitis and antiplaque effect of a mouthwash containing pomegranate extract,1 month post scaling, in patients with chronic gingivitis. Materials and Methods: Fifty subjects diagnosed with generalized chronic gingivitis were selected and divided into two groups: A and B, with 25 subjects in each group. Group A subjects underwent single sitting of oral prophylaxis while group B subjects were advised 15ml of Pomegranate mouthwash (undiluted) twice daily for 1 month post scaling. Clinical parameters: gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded at baseline and 1 month post scaling. Results: Use of Punicagranatum mouth wash showed significantimprovement in bleeding and gingivitis score in Group B subjects (P value <0.001). Conclusion: Punicagranatum mouthwash improves gingival status with its profound styptic action, sufficiently reducing the plaque scores.