Benefits of an essential based mouthwash

Essential oils are shown to be effective in reducing periodontal clinical inflamatory indexes when used on a daily basis oral hygiene regimen and for optimal patient's plaque control. Marketed in the U.S.A. since more than a century ago it seemed to be important to understand the patient's overall acceptance of essential oils in europe and, in this study, specifically in the italian population. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the benefits of daily administration of an essential oils based mouthrinse in a “real-life”, non-clinical setting. 766 patients were recruited by 9 universities to attend a screening session comprising gingival health and dental plaque evaluations by means of periodontal indexes and scores ranging from 0 to 3. 90 days later, this patient population was asked to return for a second evaluatory visit. At completion of the study 735 patients were examined obtaining an age range between 30.5 ± 10.3 years (380 male and 355 female). Baseline scores for plaque were 1.95 (SD 0.73) vs. final data of 1.06(SD 0.80); for the gingival inflamation scores baseline data were 1.56 (SD 0.64) and final at 90 days 0.81(SD 0.64). 83.9% of patients recruted gave an overall general acceptance of the mouthrinse both for efficacy and subjective positive perception and side effects of importance were only referred for burning mouth sensations (4.2%). The study showed that essential oils on a daily-use and if administered in a non-clinical setting over a 3 month period, significantly improves gum health and dental plaque scores.