Effect of honey in preventing gingivitis and dental caries
in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment
Saudi Dent J, 2014 Jul;26(3):108-14
OBJECTIVES:
THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE FOLLOWING: (1)
the effects of chewing honey on plaque formation in orthodontic patients, (2)
the effect of chewing honey on dental plaque bacterial counts, (3) determine if
honey possesses antibacterial effects on bacteria recovered from plaques.
METHODS:
Female orthodontic patients (n = 20, 12-18 years of age)
participated in this randomized controlled study. The effects of honey were
compared to treatment with either 10% sucrose or 10% sorbitol that served as
positive and negative controls, respectively. The pH of plaque was measured
using a digital pH meter prior to baseline and at 2, 5, 10, 20, and 30 min
after chewing honey or rinsing with control solutions and the numbers of
Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacilli, and Prophymonas gingivalis in respective
plaques were determined. The antibacterial activity of honey was tested against
commonly used antibiotics using the disk diffusion method.
RESULTS:
Significant differences in pH were observed in the honey and
sucrose groups compared to the pH observed in the sorbitol group. The maximum pH drop occurred at 5 min in both the honey and sucrose
groups; however the pH in the honey group rapidly recovered 10-20 min after
exposure and did not drop below the critical decalcification pH of 5.5. On the
other hand, the pH following sucrose exposure fell and was associated
with a 30 min recovery time. The pH observed for the sorbitol group did not
change over time. Bacterial counts were significantly reduced in the honey
group compared to the other treatment groups and honey significantly
inhibited the growth of all studied strains compared to inhibition observed
with antibiotics .
CONCLUSIONS:
Honey can be used as an alternative to traditional remedies
for the prevention of dental caries and gingivitis following orthodontic
treatment.
No comments:
Post a Comment