Plant-based treatment modalities for peri-implant diseases: a scoping review.

backgroundImplant failures are frequently associated with inflammatory conditions, notably peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis. Given that various herbal components possess beneficial properties, their potential application in treating peri-implant diseases warrants investigation. This scoping review, therefore, aimed to map the evidence on different plant-based interventions, their modes of action, and their prospective utility in the peri-implant diseases treatment.

methodsThis scoping review adhered to the guidelines established by the Joanna Briggs Institute for scoping reviews and was reported in alignment with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Studies were included if they investigated herbal interventions in any form to treat peri-implant mucositis or peri-implantitis. Articles were systematically searched across three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science and was complemented by manual and other online sources searching, between August to October 2024. Randomized control trials, case-reports, books and book chapters, animal studies and in-vitro studies published in English were considered while reviews, editorial notes or opinions were excluded. Data was extracted and synthesized to understand the varied plant parts used as herbal interventions, their modes of delivery and mechanisms of action to treat peri-implant diseases. Qualitative summaries, figure and tables were used to analyse the data.

resultsOf the total 2037 articles identified,1939 were eliminated in the deduplication process. Full texts of 33 articles from databases and other online sources were screened based on the pre-decided criteria. Finally, 25 articles [randomized control trials (2),in-vitro studies (18), studies were in-vitro and in-silico studies (3), animal study (1), and in-vivo and in-vitro study (1) ] were included. Varied plants and parts of the plants have been researched, with Curcuma Longa was the most widely researched followed by Cranberry plant for treating peri-implant diseases. Four main modes of action of herbal medicines that make them potential therapeutic agents or adjuncts for treating peri-implant diseases were identified as antimicrobial, anti-biofilm formation, anti-inflammatory and osteoclastogenesis inhibitory action. Studies reported use of plant-based interventions in varied forms such as mouth rinses, implant surface coatings, gel forms and biosynthesis for nanoparticles and demonstrated promising results.

conclusionHerbal medicines in general, and Curcuma longa specifically, exhibited significant potential for utilization as an adjunctive therapy in the management of peri-implant diseases. Their efficacy is attributed to their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and osteoclastogenesis-inhibitory properties, which warrant further exploration for the treatment of these conditions. While current research is largely confined to laboratory phases, future investigations must prioritize the translation of these findings into clinical trials to facilitate more comprehensive evidence gathering.