SIMÕES, A. P. G.; SIMÕES, André Paulo Gomes.
Abstract:
The use of medicinal plants as therapy began at the origin of medicine and has grown
over the years. The products of vegetal origin formed bases in the combat to diverse
diseases, either due to the knowledge of the plants passed from generation to
generation or by the use of some vegetal species like source of active particles. Due
to the worldwide growth of phytotherapy as a method of prevention and control of
pathologies, it was stimulated the evaluation of activities in the control of dental biofilm
from plant extracts, as well as other oral diseases. Taking into account the context
presented, this study aimed to present a literature review of the narrative type of
medicinal plants in the fight against dental biofilm. A selection of scientific articles was
obtained from the following databases: Virtual Health Library (VHL), Scientific
Electronic Library Online (Scielo), National Center for Biotechnology Information
(Pubmed), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Sciences (LILACS) and Medical
Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (Medline). The inclusion criteria were
papers published in Portuguese, English and Spanish from 2009 to 2019, in the format
of article, thesis and dissertation. Articles published outside the chronology and
language used as an inclusive criterion were excluded from this study. It was
concluded that the use of medicinal plants has presented quite significant results in the
fight against dental biofilm, either because of its antimicrobial properties or because of
its non-adherent potential against the bacteria that form the dental biofilm. Further
studies and clinical trials are suggested for conventional methods in combating dental
biofilm and, consequently, dental caries.
