Phytodentistry in Africa: prospects for head and neck cancers

Abstract

Background Orthodox dentistry has undergone significant changes in recent times with the introduction of various omics and molecular targeted therapies both at the experimental/trial and clinical implementation level. Although, significant milestones have been achieved in the molecular dentistry field in the past decade, there remains a dearth of application of phytopharmacological innovation in personalized and targeted therapies for dental diseases. Main body From time immemorial, plant products have long been an integral aspect of dental practice ranging from chewing sticks/herbal kinds of toothpaste to dental/impression materials. The current era of precision medicine seeks to apply a multipronged molecular and bio-computational approaches to solve fundamental medical problems that have hitherto remained difficult. Remarkable changes in the molecular/omics era, have transformed empirical therapies into personalized/individualized ones. Furthermore, the combinatorial application and the widespread introduction of high-throughput molecular tools such as pharmacogenomics, phytopharmacology, metabolomics, mathematical modelling, and genetic engineering inter alia, has tremendously improved the diagnostic and therapeutic landscape of medicine. Additionally, the variable molecular epidemiology of diseases among different population and emerging molecular evidence warrants the use of customized novel theranostic techniques. Unfortunately, the footprint of such emerging application is sparse in dental diseases such as maxillofacial cancers. Conclusion Hence, this review seeks to evaluate the potential application of phytopharmacological approaches to head and neck cancers in a resource-limited environment, such as Africa.

Medicinal plants in dentistry- A brief review

“…Hippocrates listed between 300 and 400 therapeutic plants in the late fifth century BC. 3 Dioscorides published De materia medica in the first century AD, which served as the model for contemporary pharmacopoeias. A Sumerian clay slab from Nagpur, which is about 5000 years old, contains the oldest recorded evidence of the use of medicinal plants for making medications.…”

“…India is home to an enormous collection of medicinal plants that are employed in conventional medical procedures. 3 The natural phytochemicals hold promise as a potent antibiotic substitute as well as a promising strategy to treating and preventing dental caries and other oral infections.…”