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. 2024 Apr;17(Suppl 1):S100-S111.
doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10005-2805.

Herbal Mouthrinses for Prevention of Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Ankita M Saikia  1 , Abirami Sivasubramanian  1 , M S Muthu  1 , Akila Ganesh  2 , Krithika Chandrasekaran  3 , Richard Kirubakaran  4
Affiliations

Herbal Mouthrinses for Prevention of Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Ankita M Saikia et al. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of herbal mouthrinses (HMR) on caries prevention in children and adolescents. In addition, this systematic review assessed its effectiveness in remineralization of white spot lesions, reduction of halitosis, and improving gingival and periodontal health in orthodontic patients and patients with special healthcare needs (SHCN). A comprehensive bibliographic search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Central, EMBASE, AMED, ProQuest, CINAHL, AYUSH, Digital Helpline for Ayurveda Research Articles (DHARA), and Clinical Trial Gov databases. A total of 3,918 titles were identified during the initial search. Of these, 32 studies were selected for quality assessment. A total of 5,038 participants from 10 countries were thus included in this review, with 22 (66.7%) studies conducted in India. All included studies were published between 2004 and 2021. Included studies investigated the effect of HMR on caries increments, which record decayed, missing, filled (DMF) [International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS)], decayed, missing, filled teeth/surfaces (DMFT/S), and incipient caries. Changes in bacterial count (Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus) and alterations in levels of Candida albicans from saliva or plaque samples were also reported. The effect of HMR on gingival and plaque indices among adolescents undergoing orthodontic treatment and children with SHCN was reported in two studies. The variance in the HMR formula across studies, short follow-up period, and limiting grade of evidence do not allow for conclusive evidence of the efficacy of HMR. This warrants high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with longer intervention periods involving children under 6 years to yield more conclusive results.

How to cite this article: Saikia AM, Sivasubramanian A, MS M, et al. Herbal Mouthrinses for Prevention of Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(S-1):S100-S111.

Keywords: Caries prevention; Herbal mouthrinse; Herbs; Streptococcus mutans; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Source of support: This systematic review was a funded project by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Grant no.5/7/1708/CH/Adhoc/RBMCH2020. Conflict of interest: NoneConflict of interest: None

Figures

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Fig. 1:
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis flow to illustrate the screening process
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Risk of bias graph
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Fig. 3:
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