Microbiological Effect of Essential Oils in Combination with Subgingival Ultrasonic Instrumentation and Mouth Rinsing in Chronic Periodontitis Patients

Table 3

Comparison of subgingival bacterial counts in shallow pockets (PPD = 4-5 mm).

		Baseline	After 7 days	𝑃 value
Control group; 𝑛 = 8 sites	Total bacteria	5.2±0.7	5.6±0.8	0.1604
	P. gingivalis	3.3±1.9	3.2±2.2	0.5992
	P. intermedia	1.9±1.2	2.3±1.6	0.2249
	T. forsythia	3.8±1.0	4.0±1.5	0.2603
Saline group; 𝑛 = 12 sites	Total bacteria	5.5±0.9	5.1±1.0	0.0356*
	P. gingivalis	3.3±1.8	2.8±1.7	0.1139
	P. intermedia	2.6±1.2	2.4±1.4	0.7210
	T. forsythia	3.6±1.0	2.9±1.5	0.0711
EO group; 𝑛 = 12 sites	Total bacteria	5.8±0.9	5.1±0.8	0.0050^†
	P. gingivalis	4.3±1.9	3.4±1.7	0.0076^†
	P. intermedia	3.1±1.6	3.0±1.7	0.5933
	T. forsythia	4.2±1.1	3.2±0.9	0.0076^†

Values are expressed as mean ± SD (log10/mL). EO: essential oil-containing antiseptic; P. gingivalis: Porphyromonas gingivalis; P. intermedia: Prevotella intermedia; T. forsythia: Tannerella forsythia. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical analysis (𝑃<0.05, ^∗𝑃<0.01, †decrease).