FITOTERAPY: AN OPTION IN ODONTOLOGICAL TREATMENT

Abstract

Brazil is a country privileged in relation to employment of phytotherapy, as it possesses 25% of world flora and a genetic heritage of great potential for developing new medicines. The cultivation, sale and use of medicinal plants as an option for the treatment and healing practices were deemed related to poor populations, but currently has risen in all social classes from various regions of the world. In dentistry, the studies with natural products have increased in recent years due to the search for new products with higher pharmacological activity, with less toxicity and more biocompatible, and make cost more accessible to the population. The popular acceptance of phytotherapy leads to good prospects in the market for dental products containing natural substances, and these may be released provided that widely supported by specific clinical and laboratory studies. Several substances are used in popular medicine as agents antiseptics, such as thyme and cocoa, and that more prominently in dentistry are aroeira, propolis and pomegranate due to its therapeutic properties and because they possess relatively widespread use within the popular medicine for the treatment of various oral diseases. Given the benefits presented by phytotherapy, it is evident the need for assessment and demand for alternative and economically viable, suggesting the use of this feature as a low-cost programs in the curative and preventive dentistry.