| dc.description.abstract | Patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment often experience difficulties in maintaining oral hygiene, leading to increased plaque retention. This condition is exacerbated by infections caused by pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity, which can result in gingival inflammation. Therefore, the use of chlorhexidine mouthwash is commonly recommended as an adjunctive plaque control measure. However, chlorhexidine has several adverse effects, including its bactericidal nature, which can disrupt the balance of the normal oral microbiota. Pandan leaf (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) mouthwash may serve as an alternative due to its active compounds that possess antibacterial properties. This study aimed to compare the mean colony count of Staphylococcus aureus on orthodontic stainless steel wires after immersion in pandan leaf mouthwash for 24 hours. This was a laboratory-based experimental study using a post-test only control group design. The samples consisted of 20 pieces of stainless steel orthodontic wire contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus and incubated in test tubes for 24 hours. The samples in this study were divided into five treatment groups: Group 1 – pandan mouthwash at 15% concentration; Group 2 – 20% concentration; Group 3 – 25% concentration; Group 4 – DMSO (control); and Group 5 – 0.2% chlorhexidine. Total Plate Count (TPC) analysis was performed to compare the number of bacterial colonies in each treatment group, with each test repeated three times. The results showed the mean colony counts were: 646±13,013 CFU/ml, 549±13,229 CFU/ml, 475±17,039 CFU/ml, 1700±3,512 CFU/ml, dan 35±1,528 CFU/ml. Based on the results of statistical analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk normality test and Levene's homogeneity test indicated that the data were normally distributed and homogeneous. The One-Way ANOVA test showed a statistically significant difference between the treatment groups (p = 0.000). Further analysis using the LSD post-hoc test revealed that the differences in the mean number of bacterial colonies between all groups were also significant. The conclusion of this study is that pandan leaf mouthwash possesses antibacterial properties; however, it is not more effective than 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash. | en_US |
