RESUMO
AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiplaque effect of Lippia sidoides (LS) by in vivo investigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten healthy volunteers participated in a cross-over, double-blind clinical study, using a 3-day partial-mouth plaque accumulation model. The participants abolished any method of mechanical oral hygiene and they were randomly assigned initially to use just the following mouth rinses: Distilled water (negative control group), 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate (positive control group) or 10% LS (test group). The plaque index was recorded in the six anterior upper teeth at the end of the trial and the one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were used to estimate the difference among groups. RESULTS: The clinical results did show statistically significant difference among three groups (P < 0.05), favoring the positive control group and test group, however, no difference in efficacy was found between them (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The mouth rinses containing 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate and 10% LS were equally able to inhibit plaque re-growth.