Biomedical applications of phytomedicines: Dental perspective

Introduction: Ayurveda is the ancient Indian system of health care and longevity. Ayurvedic treatment is aimed at the patient as an organic whole, and treatment consists of salubrious use of drugs, diets, and certain practices. Currently, Ayurveda is widely practiced in the Hindustan peninsula (India and the neighboring countries) and in recent years, there has been a resurgence of herbs in economically developed countries such as those in Europe, United States, and Japan. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was made in PubMed, MEDLINE, LILACS/BBO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, sciencedirect, and Google Scholar databases. Results: Herbs have been used for centuries to prevent and control disease. Herbal extracts are effective because they interact with specific chemical receptors within the body and are in a pharmacodynamics sense, drugs themselves. Taking into consideration the ineffectiveness, potential side effects, and safety concerns of synthetic drugs, the herbal alternatives for dental usage might prove to be advantageous. Conclusion: Phytomedicine has been used in dentistry as an anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, analgesic, sedative and also as endodontic irrigant. Herbal preparations can be derived from the root, leaves, seeds, stem, and flowers

Convalescing Mandibular Anterior Crowding through Piezocision and the Micro-Osteoperforation Surgical Procedure—A Clinical Comparative Study

Background: Minimally invasive periodontic (perio) surgical procedures, piezocision, and micro-osteoperforation are useful techniques for accelerating tooth movement. These techniques also offer advantages in the orthodontic (ortho) and aesthetic domains. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the rates of lower anterior decrowding with piezocision and micro-osteoperforation. Methods: This clinical study included 24 patients requiring fixed orthodontic treatments. Two periodontic techniques (piezocision (PZ) and micro-osteoperforation (MOP)) were considered for the orthodontic treatments. Each patient was randomly allocated to either the piezocision (PZ) group or the micro-osteoperforation (MOP) group. The piezocision group received five radiographically guided incisions on the labial surface of the alveolar bone, whereas the micro-osteoperforation group received one to three MOPs each using a mini-implant drill between the six lower anterior teeth, and later, an initial arch wire was ligated to each bracket. Little’s irregularity index (LII) was calculated using a digital vernier caliper on study models every four weeks until decrowding was achieved. The difference in the rates of lower anterior crowding between the piezocision and micro-osteoperforation groups was analyzed to determine the statistical significance. Results: The rates of irregularity index change during decrowding were 4.38 ± 0.61 in the piezocision group and 3.82 ± 0.47 in the micro-osteoperforation group. Piezocision was found to be 1.2 times faster than micro-osteoperforation in terms of the rate of decrowding. Conclusion: The advanced perio–ortho combination technique was advantageous in accelerated decrowding. In comparison to MOP, there was an increase in the rate of decrowding with PZ. Decrowding can be completed quickly with PZ, and it can thus be used to treat crowding effectively in a limited time frame