evaluation of manuka honey effects on dental plaque and bacterial load (clinical study)

Background: bioactive components of honey offer essential therapeutic properties as antimicrobial and it is linked to several health advantages. the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of manuka honey (mh) mouthwash on plaque (pli), gingival scores, and streptococcus mutans (s. mutans) bacterial load compared with those of chlorhexidine (chx) and distilled water (dw).methodology: a randomized, double-blind, parallel, and clinical study was designed for the present study. forty-five individuals between the ages of 20 and 40 years old were chosen randomly and split into the mh, chx, and dw mouthwash groups. every person received a bottle at random. the use of mouthwash lasted for 21 days. before the beginning of using the mouthwash (day zero), for each participants pli and bleeding on probing (bop) scores were recorded, the molecular identification and quantification of s. mutans was determined. after 21 days, all records were repeated.results: all three mouthwash groups were indicated statistically significant decreases in pli and bop scores (p<0.001) at the end of 21 day. the reduction in bacterial load was statistically significant in mh group.