SynthesisBMC complementary medicine and therapies2020
Effectiveness of herbal oral care products in reducing dental plaque & gingivitis - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Traditional Oral Hygiene Practices and Their Effectiveness: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.Oral health & preventive dentistry · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Mouthwash, Rinses, Salt Water, and Toothpastes on the Oral Health of Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review: Pregnancy and Oral Health.Global health, epidemiology and genomics · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of herbal oral care products in reducing dental plaque and gingivitis: an overview of systematic reviews.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2024Pooled it
- Clinical Effectiveness of Herbal Oral Care Products in Periodontitis Patients: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Do natural ingredients in a dentifrice contribute to prevention of plaque and gingivitis?International journal of dental hygiene · 2021Trial
- Cytotoxicity, antibacterial efficacy, and fluoride content of commercial herbal toothpastes.BDJ open · 2026Article
- The Effects of Bioactive Glass-Containing Toothpastes onDentistry journal · 2026Article
- Investigation of the anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties of Weizmannia coagulans MBBCM9™ and formulation of a probiotic oral health product.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026Article
- Antiseptics Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Periodontal Diseases: A Comprehensive Review.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Article
- The impact ofFrontiers in dental medicine · 2025Article
- Efficacy of a Herbal Toothpaste During Active Periodontal Treatment: A Clinical Study.Dentistry journal · 2024Article
- A Three-Month Probiotic (theDentistry journal · 2024Article
- Development of Tooth Brushing Recommendations Through Professional Consensus.International dental journal · 2024Article
- Investigating the efficacy of a varnish containing gallic acid on remineralization of enamel lesions: an in vitro study.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- Herbal Dentifrices for Prevention of Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2024Review
- Article
- Dentinomimetics and cementomimetics of Moringa oleifera leaves extract.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Knowledge and attitude toward oral health behavior of overseas students during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC oral health · 2023Article
- Current and Potential Applications of Monoterpenes and Their Derivatives in Oral Health Care.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the large number of trials conducted using herbal oral care products for the reduction of dental plaque or gingivitis, results are conflicting and inconclusive.
objectiveTo assess the effectiveness of herbal oral care products compared to conventional products in reducing dental plaque and gingivitis adults.
methodsWe searched the following databases for Randomised controlled trials (RCTs): MEDLINE Ovid, EMBASE Ovid etc. which yielded 493 trails. Of which 24 RCTs comparing herbal toothpaste or mouth rinse with over the counter toothpaste or mouth rinse in adults aged 18 to 65 years were included. Two authors extracted information and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using Risk of Bias. Meta-analyses using the random-effects model were conducted for four outcomes for tooth paste and mouth rinse respectively. Mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) were used to estimate the effect, with 95% confidence intervals.
resultsA total of 1597 adults participated in 24 RCT studies. These were classified as herbal toothpaste (HTP) (15 trials, 899 participants) and herbal mouth rinse (HMR) (9 trials, 698 participants) compared with non-herbal toothpaste (NHTP) or non-herbal mouth rinse (NHMR). We found that HTP was superior over NHTP (SMD 1.95, 95% CI (0.97-2.93)) in plaque reduction. The long-term use of NHMR was superior in reduction of dental plaque over HMR (SMD -2.61, 95% (CI 4.42-0.80)). From subgroup analysis it showed that HTP was not superior over fluoride toothpaste (SMD 0.99, 95% CI (0.14-2.13)) in reducing dental plaque. However, HTP was favoured over non-fluoride toothpaste (SMD 4.64, 95% CI (2.23-7.05)).
conclusionFor short-term reduction in dental plaque, current evidence suggests that HTP is as effective as compared to NHTP; however, evidence is from low quality studies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.