Medicinal plants for gingivitis: a review of clinical trials

Objective(s): Periodontal diseases are among prevalent oral health problems which may ultimately lead to severe complications in oral cavity. Herbal products can be designed as single or multicomponent preparations for better oral health. This study aims to review current clinical trials on the effectiveness of herbal products in gingivitis. Materials and Methods: Electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Cochrane library were searched with the keywords “gingivitis” in the title/abstract and “plant/ extract/ herb” in the whole text for clinical trials on herbal treatments for gingivitis. Data were collected from 2000 until January 2018. Only papers with English full-texts were included in our study. Results: Herbal medicines in the form of dentifrice, mouth rinse, gel, and gum were assessed in gingivitis via specific indices including plaque index, bleeding index, microbial count, and biomarkers of inflammation. Pomegranate, aloe, green tea, and miswak have a large body of evidence supporting their effectiveness in gingivitis. They could act via several mechanisms such as decrease in gingival inflammation and bleeding, inhibition of dental plaque formation, and improvement in different indices of oral hygiene. Some polyherbal formulations such as triphala were also significantly effective in managing gingivitis complications. Conclusion: Our study supports the efficacy and safety of several medicinal plants for gingivitis; however, some plants do not have enough evidence due to the few number of clinical trials. Thus, future studies are mandatory for further confirmation of the efficacy of these medicinal plants.