A Pilot Study on the Degree of Tooth Staining Caused by Pollen Water and Chlorhexidine: In Vitro Study

Chlorhexidine oral rinse has been used as an adjuvant in the treatment of periodontal disease. However, there are drawbacks of using chlorhexidine i.e. tooth staining and other side effects, including allergy reaction. In light of the proven therapeutic properties of pollen water as well as its relatively cheap cost in the market, pollen water has a potential to be an effective alternative to chlorhexidine oral rinse. The aim of this study is to compare the degree of tooth staining influenced by water-based pollen mouthwash to the standard Chlorhexidine mouthwash using spectrophotometer.

24 specimens from extracted intact human teeth were soaked into the three different solutions, Chlorhexidine, Pollen water (date palm pollen water suspension), and normal water. Color measurements were carried out by a spectrophotometer devise and recorded at 5 different time intervals. Color change (∆E), Chroma (C*) and Hue (H*) were analyzed and compared among the three solutions.

Overall mean ∆E was similar in all groups, significant difference between all time points was found only in pollen water. The change in C* was higher in pollen water as compared to other solutions. There was a subtle increase in H* in the Chlorhexidine samples after week 3. The H* values in pollen water were stable, but a sudden decrease was observed in week 6. The difference in H* among the three solutions was significant after 3 weeks.

Within the limitation of our study, it can be concluded that Pollen water stained teeth to a lesser extent than did chlorhexidine. It might be beneficial to use Pollen water as mouthwash however, further investigation is needed regarding the efficacy of plaque control.