the effect of salvadora persica herbal toothbrush on the surface roughness of enamel

Objective: this in vitro study investigated the abrasive properties of the salvadora persica (s. persica) herbal toothbrush in comparison to a soft toothbrush on enamel.methods: sixty bovine central incisors were obtained and randomly divided into two groups (n=30) according to the type of toothbrush used. group 1 was brushed with an s. persica toothbrush, while group 2 was brushed with an oral-b soft toothbrush. the teeth were mounted in an artificial mouth device and brushed twice a day for 2 minutes per session. this brushing regimen was maintained for seven consecutive days, with the specimens stored in distilled water between brushing cycles. the enamel surface roughness was measured before and after the brushing process by a stylus profilometer, and the average surface roughness value (ra) was recorded. the data were analyzed using independent samples and paired samples t-tests (α = 0.05).results: the enamel surface roughness decreased significantly in both groups after brushing (p < 0.001). there were no significant differences in surface roughness between the two groups, either at baseline (s. persica: 0.33 ± 0.16 µm; oral-b: 0.36 ± 0.12 µm; p=0.493) or at the end of the experiment (s. persica: 0.28 ± 0.11 µm; oral-b: 0.32 ± 0.08 µm; p=0.216).conclusions:  brushing with either the s. persica or oral-b soft toothbrush reduced enamel surface roughness. the s. persica toothbrush produced a mean surface roughness value comparable to that of the regular soft toothbrush, and thus it may be considered as a suitable alternative to conventional toothbrushes