Medicinal Plants Used in Dental Hygiene

For thousands of years, medicinal plants have been used to prevent and treat a broad variety of diseases and other medical conditions. Even today, the majority of people in developing countries depend on the prophylactic or healing properties of plants as their main source of health care. Dental hygiene and overall oral health rank high on the list of health concerns routinely addressed with these plants.

• Primitive chewing sticks rival toothbrushing in dental hygiene efficacy.

Importance of Dental Hygiene

• Enzo Palombo, in a study published in a 2009 issue of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, observes that "oral diseases continue to be a major health problem worldwide," including the so-called developed nations. He points out that there appears to be a strong link between poor oral health and a wide array of diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. Palombo suggests that modern medicine can take some tips from primitive societies that use certain plant substances to promote dental hygiene.

Nigerian Chewing Sticks

• In an article published in a 2005 issue of the Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice, K.C. Ndukwe et al. report that aqueous extracts from 17 chewing sticks and one fruit traditionally used for oral hygiene in Nigeria were tested for antimicrobial properties. All showed varying degrees of effectiveness against commonly seen oral bacteria. The authors suggested that "extracts of these plants may serve as sources for chemotherapeutic agents for the management of orofacial infections."

Popular Asian Plant Materials

• Equally promising were tests done on a couple of plant substances widely used for dental hygiene in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent. A 1999 study published in the Indian Journal of Dental Research focuses on the antimicrobial effects of two plant species: Salvadora persica, known locally as miswak or arak, and Azadirachta indica, usually called neem. Both proved extremely effective against common oral bacteria. A later study, published in a 2003 issue of Oral Health & Preventive Dentistry, showed miswak outperformed toothbrushing in the reduction of plaque and gingivitis.

Medieval & Renaissance Remedies

• Europeans concocted a number of plant-based dental hygiene compounds during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In a paper on the subject, Jadwiga Zajaczkowa lists such remedies as an oral rinse with wine followed by vigorous chewing of fennel or parsley; rubbing the teeth with the remnants of burned rosemary that has been wrapped in a clean piece of linen; and chewing a paste made up of equal parts marjoram and mint.

Bottom Line

• Palombo, an associate professor of environmental biotechnology and sustainability at the Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Australia, tested the effectiveness of numerous plant substances against a wide range of oral bacteria. He concludes his study with this observation: "There is considerable evidence that plant extracts, essential oils and purified phytochemicals have the potential to be developed into agents that can be used as preventative or treatment therapies for oral diseases."