Background: Herbal products, including dentifrices, appear to have become an attractive alternative for some consumers and their use has gained appreciable acceptance all over the world. A double­blinded controlled clinical trial was designed to investigate the effectiveness of two herbal­based toothpastes containing different active ingredients in the control of plaque and gingivitis. The efficacy of Dabur­ New Meswak over Dabur­ Old Meswak toothpaste was assessed in this study. Objective: To evaluate and compare the clinical efficacy of two herbal dentifrices containing different active ingredients in control of plaque induced gingivitis. Materials and Methods: 80 subjects with gingivitis participated in the study. All participants had at least 20 natural teeth with no probing depths greater than 3 mm and a plaque index score of 2 or more at baseline. At baseline, the clinical parameters like plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and gingival bleeding index (GBI) were estimated. Paired t­test was used to compare the difference within the groups and unpaired t­test was used to compare the difference between the groups at baseline and at 6 weeks. Results: A total of 80 adults (41 males and 39 females), who were allotted two experimental groups (New Meswak and Old Meswak), completed the 6 weeks clinical trial. At the end of the study, there were statistically significant reductions in the PI, GI and gingival bleeding scores within the test group. However, there were no statistically significant differences between two groups. Conclusion: Continuous application of herbal tooth pastes provided significant improvement of oral hygiene level in patients with plaque –induced gingivitis. It was however concluded that the Dabur­ New Meswak toothpaste was as effective as the Dabur­ Old Meswak in the control of plaque and gingivitis.

Keywords: Herbal Dentifrices; Dental Plaque; Gingivitis; Plaque Inhibition; Plaque Index (PI); Gingival Index (GI); Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI); Oral Hygiene.