Anticaries

Dental caries is considered as the most common polymicrobial oral disease in the world. With the aim of developing alternative approaches to reduce or prevent the decay, numerous papers showed the potential anticaries activity of a number of natural products. The natural products with anticaries effects are selected from e.g. food, beverages, flowers or traditional herbs. Most of the effective components are proven to be polyphenol compounds. Many of the natural products are studied as antibacterial agents, while some of them are found to be effective in shifting the de-/remineralization balance. However, the mechanisms of the anticaries effects are still unclear for most of the natural products. In the future, more efforts need to be made to seek novel effective natural products via in vitro experiment, animal study and in situ investigations, as well as to enhance their anticaries effects with the help of novel technology like nanotechnology.

Herbal remedies with anticaries properties

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Diluted yarrow tincture can be used to brush your teeth and massage your gums gently. This will tone and tighten them and help your teeth stay firm.

Yarrow is a powerful anti-infective herb with a strong anti-inflammatory property. You can take this as a tincture or as an infusion.

Steep it for at least one hour. If you have an infection in your mouth, yarrow will hasten healing and reduce pain. Yarrow also promotes healthy bone health and helps your body form healthy bone marrow.

St. John’s worth

Massage this herb into the muscles of your jaw to relieve tension or teeth grinding at night. To make it more effective, combine 25 drops of St. John’s worth with 5 to 7 drops of skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) tincture.