Comparison of the Effects of an Herbal Mouthwash with Chlorhexidine on Surface Bacteria Counts of Dental Plaque in Dogs

Saam Torkan*

Department of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

ABSTRACT:

Oral diseases including gingivitis and periodontitis are common in pets, particularly dogs. In order to prevent them, chemical mouthwashes are generally used which have irreversible harmful side effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potency of the herbal mouthwashes containing a mixture of Mort plant (Myrtus Communis), Chamomile (Matricaria Recutita) and Echinacea (Echinacea Purpurea) extracts on preventing plaque formation, gingivitis and periodontal diseases in dogs. In order to achieve this, 20 male dogs with clinical symptoms of oral diseases were randomly selected and divided into two groups. 0.1% Chlorhexidine and herbal spray were used for the control and treatment groups for 65 days, respectively. To evaluate the oral flora on days 0, 14, 28, 42 and 56, swab samples were taken from each dog oral cavity and cultured on nutrition agar medium. In addition, Silness-Loe plaque index system was used to evaluate plaque formation in both the beginning and at the end of the study. The reduction percentage of oral bacteria at the end of the study was measured as 84.90 and 73.41 for the control and treatment groups respectively, which was significantly different (p<0.05). Also, Silness-Loe plaque index for control and treatment groups was 0.71 and 0.75, respectively. The results of the present study indicate a favorable effect of herbal mouthwashes to prevent plaque formation and reduce oral bacteria

KEYWORDS:

Antibacterial; antiplaque; anti-gingivitis; herbal mouthwash; Chlorhexidine

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