Self-esteem and oral health-related quality of life of women with periodontal disease - A cross-sectional study.

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effect of periodontal disease on self-esteem and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in women. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 522 women (mean age - 38.92 ± 14.3 years). Oral hygiene status, plaque level, gingival inflammation, probing depth, and periodontal status were assessed. The self-esteem was assessed using a Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the OHRQoL was measured using a 14-item oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Results: Younger, employed women with higher income had significantly better OHRQoL and self-esteem. Women with healthy periodontium had better OHRQoL. Probing depth and community periodontal index scores were found to have a significant positive correlation with most of the sub-scale items and total OHIP-14 score in women with low self-esteem. Women with good OHRQoL and normal self-esteem were seen to be maintaining significantly better oral hygiene. No such statistically significant difference was observed in women with low self-esteem. Multiple regression analysis for the prediction of OHIP-14 score indicated that the best model included probing depth as the only statistically significant predictor (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Periodontal disease has a significant negative impact on self-esteem and OHRQoL in women.

Aloe vera mouthwashes can be a natural alternative to chemically formulated ones - A randomized-controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the antiplaque and antibacterial efficacy of commercially available mouthwashes containing aloe vera (AV), hydrogen peroxide (HP), and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) in a 4-day plaque regrowth study. Methods: Plaque score and salivary samples were assessed (Day-0 and Day-4) in 96 participants in a randomised, double-blind prospective parallel-arm 4-day plaque regrowth study. Participants were divided into five groups who refrained from engaging in regular oral hygiene measures during the study period and used commercially available mouthwashes containing AV, HP, and CPC as test products with distilled water (DW) and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash as negative and positive controls, respectively. Salivary bacterial count was expressed as colony-forming units (CFU) (culture method). Results: There was a significant difference both in plaque score (p < 0.001) and in CFU (p < 0.001) among the study mouthwashes at Day-4. The plaque score and CFU of AV were significantly higher and lower than those of CHX and DW, respectively. The plaque score of HP was significantly higher than that of AV (p = 0.016) and CPC (p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed between AV and CPC (p = 0.70). Moreover, the CFU of HP was significantly higher than that of CPC (p = 0.04). There was no statistically significant difference between the CFU of mouthwashes containing AV and HP (p = 0.912) or AV and CPC (p = 0.280). No significant difference was seen in the inhibition of plaque and salivary bacterial count between AV, HP, and CPC. Conclusion: The antiplaque and antibacterial efficacy of commercially available AV mouthwash was similar to that of CPC and significantly better than that of HP mouthwash and can be a natural alternative to chemically formulated mouthwashes.