Effect of Triphala mouthwash on the caries status.

Nearly 60-70% of the child Indian population suffers from dental caries. Mouth rinsing is the most cost effective method of preventing dental caries. 'Triphala' has been a classic Ayurveda remedy, probably the best known among all Ayurvedic compounds. This study was conducted on 1501 students in the age group of 8-12 years with the aim of determining the effect of Triphala mouthwash on prevention of dental caries (manifest caries) as well as incipient carious lesions, and also comparing the effect of Triphala and chlorhexidine mouthwashes. The incipient caries was recorded at 3, 6, 9 months intervals and manifest caries at 9 months interval. No significant increase in the DMFS scores was found at the end of 9 months. Also, there was no significant increase in the incipient caries score towards the conclusion of the study. It was concluded that there was no significant difference between the Triphala and the chlorhexidine mouthwashes.