Herbal Product Use for Oral Health Among Patients and Their Companions Attending the Faculty of Dentistry

Year 2025, Volume: 49 Issue: 2, 95 - 102, 28.08.2025

Yağmur Deniz Yıldırım , Pınar Serdar Eymirli , Zeynep Demir Yildiz , Aysima Darıcı , Sevilay Karahan , Meryem Uzamış Tekçiçek

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Background and Aim: Many people tend to use herbal products without consulting a healthcare provider for various purposes including oral and dental problems. There is a significant lack of research focused on dental patients' use of herbal products for oral and general health. This study aimed to determine the status and reasons for herbal product use among patients attending the Faculty of Dentistry at Hacettepe University.
Materials&Methods
Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire applied under supervision. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers and consisted of 20 questions in total. A total of 300 fully complete questionnaires were evaluated. Descriptive statistics are given by number and percent distributions.
Results: The mean age of participants was 37.86 years, ranging from 18 to 74. The proportion of female participants was 66.2%, while males constituted 33.8%. 35.5% (n = 106) of participants were using herbal products. The most commonly selected reason for herbal product use was immune support, followed by skin care, pain relief, weight control, and wound or burn healing. It was observed that only 9.4% of the reported uses were directly related to oral health.
Conclusion: Although general interest in herbal products appears strong, this interest seems to be directed more toward systemic and cosmetic applications rather than oral and dental health. There is a clear need to improve public awareness and professional guidance related to the use of herbs. It is imperative that the dentist be familiar with herb-drug interactions, as clearly a large number of patients are using these products.

Keywords

herbal products , phytotherapy , dental patients , dentistry

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