Efficacy of Triphala and Chlorhexidine Mouthwashes on Gingival Inflammation and Dental Plaque in Children: A Systematic Review

• Published in: Oral (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-11, Vol.4 (4), p.567-577
• Main Authors: Singaraju, Anuja, Nuvvula, Sivakumar, Rudravaram, Venkata Ratna Kumar, Anchala, Karthik, Venkata Saikiran, Kanamarlapudi, Mallineni, Sreekanth Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiovascular disease; children; chlorhexidine; Citations; Dental plaque; Dentistry; Endodontics; gingiva; Gum disease; Oral hygiene; Systematic review; triphala
• ISSN: 2673-6373; 2673-6373
• DOI: 10.3390/oral4040044

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of Triphala and chlorhexidine mouthwashes in reducing gingivitis and dental plaque in children. Methodology: A literature search was confined to the English language using MeSH terms conferring to PICO format in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Ovid (SP), covering the period from January 1960 to August 2022. A search in Google Scholar and the grey literature and a hand search of references was performed to find additional data. Suitable studies were selected based on the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality analysis of the selected studies was performed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Controlled Trials. Results: Seven hundred and forty-seven articles were retrieved from three databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Ovid (SP), and other sources). Results: A total of 747 studies were retrieved from electronic databases and hand searches. After removing duplications, 519 were available; among them, 495 irrelevant citations were excluded with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-four citations were eligible for abstract screening, and fourteen citations were excluded including invitational studies, narrative reviews, animal studies, and studies that involved adults. Finally, studies for full texts were screened for eligibility for the research question, and then only five studies were available upon full-text phase analysis. The five studies involved 1740 children to evaluate the efficacy of Triphala and chlorhexidine mouthwashes in reducing gingivitis and dental plaque in children. Among them, one article showed low risk, three articles showed moderate risk, and one article showed high risk. Conclusion: While Triphala and chlorhexidine both reduce gingivitis, reports indicate that Triphala is less effective than chlorhexidine in improving plaque index scores. Further controlled studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of Triphala mouthwash in children.