Natural products for denture base disinfection: A scoping review

This study aims to map the existing literature on natural products used as disinfection substances for conventional polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD-CAM) dentures.

Denture wearers are at high risk for denture stomatitis. Natural products have attracted the interest of the scientific community as an alternative to synthetic ones.

The guiding question "Which natural products have been applied to disinfect complete dentures in conventional PMMA or CAD-CAM PMMA resin?" Searches were conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases, and manual searches were performed in reference journals in the area with studies published until December 2023, without language or date restrictions.

A total of 4272 articles were identified, and 46 studies were included after applying the eligibility criteria. Thirty-nine natural products were evaluated. Of the included studies, 43 presented positive findings and three obtained negative findings on the effectiveness of natural products in inhibiting or killing Candida albicans.

Natural products, predominantly sourced from the Plantae kingdom, have demonstrated efficacy in reducing Candida albicans on the surface of conventional PMMA. However, the evidence primarily stems from in vitro studies, underscoring the necessity for additional clinical research to validate their applicability under real microbiological conditions in prosthesis users.