Efektivitas Gel Ekstrak Semangka sebagai Bahan Herbal Pemutih Gigi

Abstract

Dental bleaching is a procedure to whiten teeth. Malic acid, a natural ingredient found in watermelon, is known to help whiten teeth safely. The purpose of this study was to analyze the appropriate concentration for improving tooth whiteness after applying watermelon extract gel with concentrations of 70%, 80%, and 90%. This research method was a clinical experiment. By providing treatment to the research subjects, the research design used a post-test only control group design. Watermelon extract gel was made by extraction using the maceration method. 100% watermelon extract was converted into a gel by mixing the gel base until it obtained the desired concentration. The samples were asked to use the watermelon extract gel for 30 minutes every day for up to 14 days. Measurements were taken on days 3, 7, 10, and 14 using a shade guide. Data analysis was carried out by testing data normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test and continued with the Wilcoxon test and post hoc LSD to determine the improvement in tooth whiteness. The results showed that there was an increase in tooth whitening after application of watermelon extract gel with concentrations of 70%, 80%, and 90% (p < 0.05). In addition, there was a difference in the increase in tooth whitening after application of watermelon extract gel with concentrations of 70%, 80%, and 90% on days 10 and 14 (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that watermelon extract gel has potential as a tooth whitener.