Herbal therapeutics in the management of gag reflex: A literature review

Background: Gag reflex is one of the most common conditions faced in the field of dentistry. It is the involuntary defence mechanism against the tactile stimulation of the pharynx and throat. Gag reflex is caused by the stimulation of tonsils and pharynx inhibits the swallowing of foreign object that leads to contraction of the chest, abdominal, muscles of oral and pharynx .There were cases were gag reflex causes severe limitation to a patient's ability to undergo dental treatment which in turn challenges the dentist for providing a better treatment. There are various techniques available for the management of gag reflex like pharmaceutical intervention like anti-emetic drugs, sedatives, local and general anesthetics, herbal remedies and non-pharmaceutical intervention like behavioral therapies, acupressure, laser, acupuncture, and prosthetic appliances.

Objectives: To assess the role of natural ingredients in the interventions for the management of gag reflex

Search methods: The literature search was done in electronic databases in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, MEDLINE and Google search engine to extract clinical studies on natural ingredients used to control the gag reflex among the population with no time limitation. The included search words were “ natural ingredients”, “gag reflux” “Clinical trial,” “Clinical study,” “Blind,” or “review”.

Selection criteria: The reviews and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving animals or human using natural ingredients in the intervention to manage gagging that interfered with dental treatment.

Data collection and analysis: Two authors independently collected the datas. The review authors independently assessed and overall quality of the evidence.

Conclusions: The evidence obtained from data the quality of the evidence of the outcome were neither satisfactory nor adequate evidence for interventions for managing the gag reflex during dental treatment. This review thrives to do research to improve the therapeutics in the management of gag reflex.