clinical evaluation of the effect of Lavandula angustifolia gum on salivary streptococcus mutans count , salivary PH, plaque index and gingival bleeding

Abstract

Introduction: Lavandula angustifolia plant has significant effects. The aim of this study was to use the extract of Lavandula angustifolia in the preparation of herbal gum and to compare it with the control group without extract. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of this extract on the amoutnt of salivary streptococcus mutans bacteria and pH, plaque index and gingival bleeding in Tabriz Dental School. Methods: This clinical trial study was conducted on 54 students and staff of Tabriz Dental Faculty after extracting the plant and making gum. The participants were devided into two groups of chewing gum with or without Lavandula angustifolia extract for two weeks. The plaque index and gingival bleeding was recorded before and after the use of chewing gum and reported as percentages. Before and after using the gums, unstimulated saliva was collected from the volunteers and sent to the laboratory for bacterial culture. On the same day, salivary pH was measure. SPSS 26 and STATA 14.2 software and beta regression tests, Generalize Estimating Equations analysis, McNemar test, Sperman correlation test, Kolmogorov test were used for data analysis. Results: Out of 54 participants, 19 (35%) were men and 35 (65%) were women. The results of beta-regression analysis showed that the amount of plaque index after using Lavandula angustifolia L gum and placebo significantly decreased compared to before using them. In addition, there was a significant decrease in plaque index after using Lavandula angustifolia L gum compared to placebo (P < 0.001). Also, by using Generalize Estimating Equations, no significant difference was observed in Lavandula angustifolia L users in terms of bleeding before and after using Lavandula angustifolia L (p-value=1.00) and using logistic regression analysis between the placebo group and Lavandula angustifolia L users in terms of A significant difference in bleeding was observed (p-value<0.001). A significant difference was observed between the amount of Streptococcus mutans in saliva before and after the use of Lavandula angustifolia L and placebo. The average number of bacteria after the use of Lavandula angustifolia L in both measurements was significantly reduced compared to the use of placebo (p<0.001). A significant difference was observed between the pH of saliva before and after consuming Lavandula angustifolia L gum (p<0.001). The average number of bacteria after the use of Lavandula angustifolia L in both stages of measurement had a significant decrease compared to the use of placebo and before the use of Lavandula angustifolia L. Conclusion The results of the study showed that the Lavandula angustifolia L plant extract gum formulation had a significant effect on reducing the amount of Streptococcus mutans bacteria and saliva pH, reducing the plaque index.