Dentistry meets nature-role of herbs in periodontal care: A systematic review

Background: Natural products have been used for several years in folk medicine. Over the last decade herbal medications turned out to be a popular form of therapy throughout the world when used in prophylaxis and treatment of various diseases. Many side-effects associated with modern medicines have been averted by using herbal medicines, and thus they are safer to use. Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effect of herbs on the periodontal diseases. Data Source: A literature review was performed in PubMed Central and Cochrane library using MeSH Terms - herbal medicine, periodontitis, and dentistry. Materials and Methods: Of a total 368 titles appeared 39 were related to the research question. Further search criteria were applied to the articles, of which 13 articles fulfilled the criteria and were selected for the review. Five articles that were hand searched were also included. Results and Conclusion: In the available literature, it was found that the low toxicity of herbs encourage further investigation that leads to a better understanding of alternative medicine for prevention of plaque formation and strengthening of the gums, as well as in reducing the incidence of periodontal infections