Evaluation of structural and compositional changes on the root surface exposed to diode laser (810 nm): An In-vitro study.

Background: The laser therapy has been used as an adjuvant for conventional periodontal disease as they exhibit a bactericidal effect on scaling and root planning by its thermal and photo disruptive effects on the pathogens. This study focuses on the structural and compositional changes induced on the root surfaces of teeth following diode laser (DL) application with increasing quantum of exposure time. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the structural and compositional changes on the root surface of extracted human permanent teeth after application of DLs (810 nm) with varying time interval. Materials and Methods: Twenty samples of single-rooted periodontally compromised extracted teeth were utilized for this study. Root planning was done and the roughness caused by the instrumentation was measured using profilometric analysis. Then, the samples were divided into four groups, with DL application time: Group 1 - laser application for 15 s, Group 2 - laser application for 30 s, Group 3 - laser application for 45 s, and Group 4 - laser application for 60 s. A scanning electron microscope was used to examine the cemental surface and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis software assesses the compositional changes of the teeth in each group. Results: This study reveals that on exposure of DL (810 nm) on the root surface when time of exposure increases, there were relative increases in surface irregularities and charring. There were significant changes in the chemical composition of the tooth surface.

Comparative Evaluation of Efficacy of Herbal and Chlorhexidine Mouthwash on Gingival Health.

INTRODUCTION: Chlorhexidine (CHX) is a chemical mouthwash that has been considered the gold standard, but has its drawbacks. When used for a longer duration, it produces taste alteration and staining on the tooth surfaces. Nowadays, herbal extracts from plants have been widely used as they possess anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and analgesic actions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of 45 healthy subjects in the age group of 19-35 years were selected and randomly divided into three groups, Group A - Himalaya complete care mouthwash, Group B - CHX mouthwash, Group C - Distilled water as a control group. Gingival index and plaque index, OHI-s index, and Ainamo and Bay index for bleeding were recorded. Subjects received complete supragingival scaling at baseline and were instructed to use 10 ml of mouthwashes twice a day in their group. Variables were again recorded on the seventh and 14th day after the use of mouthwashes, and data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis. Posthoc and ANOVA tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: It was found that both CHX and herbal mouthwash proved to be more effective than placebo in maintaining gingival health. There was no significant difference between the test group on gingival health. CONCLUSION: Herbal mouthwash is an effective alternative to CHX mouthwash, in the light of the reported side effects of CHX mouthwash.