Unconventional oral health care practices- are they beneficial? - A review

Dr. A. Vinita Mary; Dr. R. Kesavan; Dr. Abirami Ganeshanathan; Dr. Asha Karunakaran

Volume : VIII, Issue : XII, December - 2019

Unconventional oral health care practices- are they beneficial? - A review

Dr. A. Vinita Mary, Dr. R. Kesavan, Dr. Abirami Ganeshanathan, Dr. Asha Karunakaran

Abstract :

Dentistry is a science–based, highly structured health care profession that serves progressively sophisticated and demanding patients. Today, traditional dental practice is dealing with wide ranging challenges generally termed �alternative� (or complementary, unconventional or integrative) systems. Alternative medicine is a mode of non– traditional medicinal therapy which comprises of allopathic treatment and practices by medical/dental practitioners and other professionals in the health sector as opposed to conventional procedures.These systems comprise homeopathy, naturopathy, Traditional Indian and Chinese medicine systems etc. According to classification of unconventional dental practices, the alternative dental system includes theory and practices developed apart from the conventional modern western approach such as Acupuncture and oriental medicine, Traditional indigenous systems, Unconventional system procedures like holistic/biological dentistry, homeopathy for oral/dental conditions and Naturopathy, a diverse collection of natural systems and therapies.This article was aimed to frame a conceptual analysis of unconventional practices in dentistry based on the available literatures in our discipline. This review outline provides salient findings of various alternate dental systems for general/dental practitioners, researchers and patients. It should be noted that supporters of unproven oral and dental products should be encouraged to conduct controlled studies with adequate design to prove safety and efficacy. With such studies, dentists can provide information to patients and guide them in the selection of safe and effective products.