Abstract: A papain dental gel composition is disclosed for the atraumatic treatment of caries which comprises papain with a final activity of at least 3,000 U/mg, wherein the papain is bio-encapsulated in a mixture of pH=7 buffer-C3-6 polyol-pectin-C2-6 alkanolamine-nonionic emulsifier, together with pharmaceutically acceptable coloring agents, preservatives and solvents. A method of preparing said papain composition is also disclosed.