Does green tea (Camellia Sinesis) mouthwash reduce pain after placement of orthodontic separators? A randomized controlled trial

Aim: The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to determine whether gargling with green tea was effective in reducing pain after orthodontic elastomeric separators placement. Materials and methods: A total of 50 patients with an age range between 13 and 17 years were recruited and randomly allocated in a ratio of 1:1 to the green tea mouthwash group (GTG) and the control group (CG). Patients in GTG were instructed to gargle with green tea mouthwash after two hours from separators placement and every eight hours afterwards for a week, while participants of CG were asked not to rinse their mouths. The patients in the two groups were instructed not to use any kind of local or systemic analgesics throughout the duration of the study. A 10-cm horizontal visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain at two hours, six hours, bedtime, 24 hours, and then daily after separators placement for seven days. Results: One patient in each group was lost to follow up and one patient in the CG was excluded because of using analgesics; therefore, 23 patients in the CG and 24 patients in the GTG were analyzed. Although the pain scores were lower at all time points in GTG group, the difference between the two groups was statistically non-significant. Conclusion: Gargling with green tea mouthwash three times daily does not seem to significantly reduce the pain after orthodontic elastomeric separators placement as compared to controls.