KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND AWARENESS TOWARDS HERBAL MOUTHWASH AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Mouth washes are widely used as adjuvants to oral hygiene and in the delivery of active agents to the teeth and gums. The ability of these mouthwashes are to inhibit the influence of plaque formations and to reduce the course of gingival inflammations. Herbal mouthwashes have pharmacological properties such as antimicrobial , anti-inflammatory and cytostatic effects that help in maintaining oral health. So the main aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness towards herbal mouthwash among dental students.This is a cross sectional study conducted among dental students through a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions and was circulated among the dental students with the help of an online survey link. The sample size of the study was 100 and the results were tabulated accordingly.43.7% of the dental students use mouthwash and 69.9% of the dental students prefer herbal mouthwash over commercial mouthwash. From this study it is evident that the dental students are much aware and prefer herbal mouthwashes than chemical mouthwashes. Even though the dental students are aware about the benefits when they use herbal mouthwashes, its commercial availability is limited which has to be increased.