Author(s): Priya Subramaniam, Tulika Gupta

Abstract: The efficacy of a herbal mouth rinse on the oral microbial load in Down syndrome children. The study design consisted of thirty Down syndrome children aged between 7 and 13 years from Divya down Development Trust in Bangalore. Children were divided into 2 groups consisting of 15 children in each group. Group A were given herbal mouth rinse and Group B were given chlorhexidine mouth rinse, both of which were alcohol free. Mouth rinsing was carried out under supervision. Microbial samples were collected from the dorsum of the tongue at baseline and at different time intervals. The samples were subjected to culturing and quantitative analysis for aerobic and anaerobic micro-organism. Polymerase chain reaction assay was done for the detection of Porphyromonas gingivalis. Significant difference was observed between baseline and following 1 hour of rinsing in aerobic microbial load in both groups. Polymerase Chain Reaction assay also showed marked decrease inPorphyromonas gingivalis with both mouth rinses. Herbal mouth rinse can be a suitable alternative for use in Down syndrome children.