This research was conducted to associate the effectivity of 1% myrrh mouthwash with 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash in terms of inhibition of the activity of plaque and gingivitis and decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The clinical trial included 10 males and 9 females (myrrh group, n = 6; chlorhexidine group, n = 7; and saline group, n = 6). Participants initially refrained from daily routine oral health care practices for about two weeks to allow the growth of experimental gingivitis. After 14 days, they were directed to stop brushing and used 15 ml of the given mouthwash twice daily for 1 minute. All clinical parameters were recorded at baseline and post-intervention. The outcome measures were modified gingival index (MGI), plaque index (PI), proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β biomarker, and bleeding on probing (BOP). Mixed ANOVA was utilized to perform the data analysis. All treatment groups had similar clinical parameters at baseline (P >.05 for all pairwise comparisons). The post-intervention mean values of the MGI and BOP were considerably lesser in the myrrh group than the saline group (P = .016 and P <.001, respectively). The chlorhexidine group also had lower scores in these two parameters than the saline; however, its mean difference in the MGI did not reach statistical significance (P =.09). No significant difference in the mean PI and average IL-1β scores was found between the treatment groups at any time points. In conclusion, 1% myrrh mouthwash was as good as 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash in reducing gingival inflammation and BOP.
