CBD’s impact on Dentistry
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), oral health is a key indicator of overall health, well-being, and quality of life (World Health Organization, n.d.). In the past, there was little understanding of oral health, for example, in medieval times, people used to rub their teeth and gums with rough linen and paste in the belief that this would give them ‘white’ and healthy teeth (Bifulco et al., 2016). However, as research progressed, knowledge about oral health has increased, leading to the development and use of toothpaste and mouthwash. Our expertise within the field of dentistry continues to evolve in the bid to find new ways to combat the major issue of poor oral health.
Poor oral health is not only an important concern within the UK but across the whole world, with statistical evidence from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 estimating that close to 3.5 billion people worldwide are affected by oral diseases (Dye, 2017). Furthermore, last year, the WHO stated that most oral health conditions could be preventable and treated at an early stage (World Health Organization, 2020), meaning that better oral health could potentially reduce these numbers. Evidence shows that lower sugar intake could help improve oral health, and following recommendations by the WHO in 2017 to create sugar tax on sugar sweetened beverages (World Health Organization, 2017), the UK introduced its own sugar tax in 2018 (Obesity Evidence Hub, 2021) in a bid to improve public health and to prevent sugar induced oral problems.
Alongside governmental measures, scientists continued to research into new products and solutions e.g., cannabinoids, as a potential means to improve oral health. As cannabinoids have had a growing impact across the health and beauty industry with cosmetic and medical-use products, researchers began to explore its potential in the dental industry. Research undertaken on cannabinoids within the oral sector has increased over recent years with studies ranging from improvements of current oral products to its use in resolving certain oral health conditions (or complications) such as oral mucositis.
One study on oral products is the research into the effectiveness of cannabinoids mouthwash products, where the two most common over the counter mouthwashes were compared with cannabinoids mouthwash. Within the preliminary observation, researchers identified the antimicrobial property of cannabinoids against dental plaque, which led to follow-up research being undertaken. The researchers tested 2 cannabinoids-infused mouthwash (Cannabigerol and Cannabidiol) on dental plaque samples (obtained from 72 adults aged between 18-83 years old). The results showed the OTC (over the counter) products either showed no antimicrobial activity or no detectable inhibition zone (no bacteria have been killed). However, the cannabinoid infused mouthwashes were effective against all samples tested (Vasudevan & Stahl, 2020). From the results, we can conclude the potential for cannabinoids in developing efficient and safer mouthwash products, and for future oral care products no longer requiring fluoride, as too much fluoride leads to dental fluorosis (decolourisation of the teeth).
Following the ongoing research into CBD’s potential effectiveness in the field of oral health, in the CBD industry the company Colgate-Palmolive filed 3 separate international patents (I, II, III) for compositions comprising a cannabinoid integrated with an orally acceptable carrier in October 2020 (Culliney, 2021). This demonstrates that not only is the CBD sector growing, there is also a clear interest in its use in the dental industry to create more effective products.
Another study involved experimentation on mice with oral mucositis. Oral mucositis is a common complication of chemotherapy, and it affects 60-80% of patients undergoing antineoplastic treatment (Cuba et al., 2020). It is an inflammatory response and presents clinically with areas of ulceration of the mucosa, in varying degrees of severity. Due to the range of side effects that affect a patient’s quality of life, it becomes a factor that limits how much treatment that patients can receive. The study on oral mucositis mice concluded with CBD seemingly having an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, favouring a faster resolution of oral mucositis in the animal model (Cuba et al., 2020). This promising conclusion shows the possibility of safely increasing dosages and a faster resolution of cancer treatment, but more studies must be taken to confirm such claims.
There has also been a study on the ability of cannabinoids to inhibit cellular respiration of human oral cancer cells (Whyte et al., 2010). Delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC are known for disturbing mitochondrial function, and the observation of them possessing an antitumour activity led to further study into the effects on mitochondrial O2 consumption in human oral cancer cells. Researchers concluded and implied from the results obtained that cannabinoids are potent inhibitors of cellular respiration and are toxic to this highly malignant tumour. More studies must be done to establish whether cannabinoids can treat patients with oral cancer, although some activities of cannabinoids against oral cancer cells and other tumours have been previously reported.
As two constantly evolving sectors, the cross-over between the CBD and dental industry can be seen as inevitable with the bridge of science bringing both together. With poor oral health being a major worldwide issue that has affected many people, scientists are finding ways to limit the effects of, or even prevent or solve oral health conditions. Over recent years, studies have been done, ranging from investigations in oral products for daily use e.g., mouthwash, to limiting the effects of oral problems caused by medical treatment, to the possibility of CBD as treatment for some severe oral health conditions. With these studies, Colgate-Palmolive provides a successful example of use of CBD for dental improvements in the three patents it has filed (Culliney, 2021). However, with this being a new collaboration between the two industries, more studies are required to provide more evidence to support any further scientific claims in the dental sector.
Bibliography:
Bifulco, M., Amato, M., Gangemi, G., Marasco, M., Caggiano, M., Amato, A., & Pisanti, S. (2016). Dental care and dentistry practice in the Medieval Medical School of Salerno. British Dental Journal volume, 221, 87-89. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.528
Cuba, L. d. F., Salum, F. G., Guimaraes, F. S., Cherubini, K., Borghetti, R. L., & de Figueiredo, M. A. Z. (2020, 5 13). Cannabidiol on 5-FU-induced oral mucositis in mice. Oral Disease, 26(7), 1483-1493. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.13413
Culliney, K. (2021, 4 15). Colgate-Palmolive files trio of patents on ‘antibacterial’ CBD oral care blends. https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2021/04/15/Colgate-patents-cannabinoid-CBD-oral-care-toothpaste-and-mouthwash-for-antibacterial-anti-inflammatory-properties?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright
Dye, B. A. (2017, 2 1). The Global Burden of Oral Disease: Research and Public Health Significance. J Dent Res, 96(4), 361-363. 10.1177/0022034517693567
Obesity Evidence Hub. (2021, 05 14). Countries that have taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://www.obesityevidencehub.org.au/collections/prevention/countries-that-have-implemented-taxes-on-sugar-sweetened-beverages-ssbs
Vasudevan, K., & Stahl, V. (2020). Cannabinoids infused mouthwash products are as effective as chlorhexidine on inhibition of total-culturable bacterial content in dental plaque samples. Journal of Cannabis Research, 2(20). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-020-00027-z
Whyte, D., Al-Hammadi, S., Brown, O., Souid, A.-K., Balhaj, G., & Penefsky, H. S. (2010, 06). Cannabinoids Inhibit Cellular Respiration of Human Oral Cancer Cells. Pharmacology, 85(6), 328-335. 10.1159/000312686
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Oral Health. Oral Health. Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://www.who.int/health-topics/oral-health#tab=tab_1
World Health Organization. (2017). Taxes on sugary drinks: Why do it? Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260253/WHO-NMH-PND-16.5Rev.1-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
World Health Organization. (2020, 03 25). Oral Health. Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health
Author: Emily Chan
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), oral health is a key indicator of overall health, well-being, and quality of life (World Health Organization, n.d.). In the past, there was little understanding of oral health, for example, in medieval times, people used to rub their teeth and gums with rough linen and paste in the belief that this would give them ‘white’ and healthy teeth (Bifulco et al., 2016). However, as research progressed, knowledge about oral health has increased, leading to the development and use of toothpaste and mouthwash. Our expertise within the field of dentistry continues to evolve in the bid to find new ways to combat the major issue of poor oral health.
Poor oral health is not only an important concern within the UK but across the whole world, with statistical evidence from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 estimating that close to 3.5 billion people worldwide are affected by oral diseases (Dye, 2017). Furthermore, last year, the WHO stated that most oral health conditions could be preventable and treated at an early stage (World Health Organization, 2020), meaning that better oral health could potentially reduce these numbers. Evidence shows that lower sugar intake could help improve oral health, and following recommendations by the WHO in 2017 to create sugar tax on sugar sweetened beverages (World Health Organization, 2017), the UK introduced its own sugar tax in 2018 (Obesity Evidence Hub, 2021) in a bid to improve public health and to prevent sugar induced oral problems.
Alongside governmental measures, scientists continued to research into new products and solutions e.g., cannabinoids, as a potential means to improve oral health. As cannabinoids have had a growing impact across the health and beauty industry with cosmetic and medical-use products, researchers began to explore its potential in the dental industry. Research undertaken on cannabinoids within the oral sector has increased over recent years with studies ranging from improvements of current oral products to its use in resolving certain oral health conditions (or complications) such as oral mucositis.
One study on oral products is the research into the effectiveness of cannabinoids mouthwash products, where the two most common over the counter mouthwashes were compared with cannabinoids mouthwash. Within the preliminary observation, researchers identified the antimicrobial property of cannabinoids against dental plaque, which led to follow-up research being undertaken. The researchers tested 2 cannabinoids-infused mouthwash (Cannabigerol and Cannabidiol) on dental plaque samples (obtained from 72 adults aged between 18-83 years old). The results showed the OTC (over the counter) products either showed no antimicrobial activity or no detectable inhibition zone (no bacteria have been killed). However, the cannabinoid infused mouthwashes were effective against all samples tested (Vasudevan & Stahl, 2020). From the results, we can conclude the potential for cannabinoids in developing efficient and safer mouthwash products, and for future oral care products no longer requiring fluoride, as too much fluoride leads to dental fluorosis (decolourisation of the teeth).
Following the ongoing research into CBD’s potential effectiveness in the field of oral health, in the CBD industry the company Colgate-Palmolive filed 3 separate international patents (I, II, III) for compositions comprising a cannabinoid integrated with an orally acceptable carrier in October 2020 (Culliney, 2021). This demonstrates that not only is the CBD sector growing, there is also a clear interest in its use in the dental industry to create more effective products.
Another study involved experimentation on mice with oral mucositis. Oral mucositis is a common complication of chemotherapy, and it affects 60-80% of patients undergoing antineoplastic treatment (Cuba et al., 2020). It is an inflammatory response and presents clinically with areas of ulceration of the mucosa, in varying degrees of severity. Due to the range of side effects that affect a patient’s quality of life, it becomes a factor that limits how much treatment that patients can receive. The study on oral mucositis mice concluded with CBD seemingly having an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, favouring a faster resolution of oral mucositis in the animal model (Cuba et al., 2020). This promising conclusion shows the possibility of safely increasing dosages and a faster resolution of cancer treatment, but more studies must be taken to confirm such claims.
There has also been a study on the ability of cannabinoids to inhibit cellular respiration of human oral cancer cells (Whyte et al., 2010). Delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC are known for disturbing mitochondrial function, and the observation of them possessing an antitumour activity led to further study into the effects on mitochondrial O2 consumption in human oral cancer cells. Researchers concluded and implied from the results obtained that cannabinoids are potent inhibitors of cellular respiration and are toxic to this highly malignant tumour. More studies must be done to establish whether cannabinoids can treat patients with oral cancer, although some activities of cannabinoids against oral cancer cells and other tumours have been previously reported.
As two constantly evolving sectors, the cross-over between the CBD and dental industry can be seen as inevitable with the bridge of science bringing both together. With poor oral health being a major worldwide issue that has affected many people, scientists are finding ways to limit the effects of, or even prevent or solve oral health conditions. Over recent years, studies have been done, ranging from investigations in oral products for daily use e.g., mouthwash, to limiting the effects of oral problems caused by medical treatment, to the possibility of CBD as treatment for some severe oral health conditions. With these studies, Colgate-Palmolive provides a successful example of use of CBD for dental improvements in the three patents it has filed (Culliney, 2021). However, with this being a new collaboration between the two industries, more studies are required to provide more evidence to support any further scientific claims in the dental sector.
Bibliography:
Bifulco, M., Amato, M., Gangemi, G., Marasco, M., Caggiano, M., Amato, A., & Pisanti, S. (2016). Dental care and dentistry practice in the Medieval Medical School of Salerno. British Dental Journal volume, 221, 87-89. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.528
Cuba, L. d. F., Salum, F. G., Guimaraes, F. S., Cherubini, K., Borghetti, R. L., & de Figueiredo, M. A. Z. (2020, 5 13). Cannabidiol on 5-FU-induced oral mucositis in mice. Oral Disease, 26(7), 1483-1493. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.13413
Culliney, K. (2021, 4 15). Colgate-Palmolive files trio of patents on ‘antibacterial’ CBD oral care blends. https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2021/04/15/Colgate-patents-cannabinoid-CBD-oral-care-toothpaste-and-mouthwash-for-antibacterial-anti-inflammatory-properties?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright
Dye, B. A. (2017, 2 1). The Global Burden of Oral Disease: Research and Public Health Significance. J Dent Res, 96(4), 361-363. 10.1177/0022034517693567
Obesity Evidence Hub. (2021, 05 14). Countries that have taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://www.obesityevidencehub.org.au/collections/prevention/countries-that-have-implemented-taxes-on-sugar-sweetened-beverages-ssbs
Vasudevan, K., & Stahl, V. (2020). Cannabinoids infused mouthwash products are as effective as chlorhexidine on inhibition of total-culturable bacterial content in dental plaque samples. Journal of Cannabis Research, 2(20). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-020-00027-z
Whyte, D., Al-Hammadi, S., Brown, O., Souid, A.-K., Balhaj, G., & Penefsky, H. S. (2010, 06). Cannabinoids Inhibit Cellular Respiration of Human Oral Cancer Cells. Pharmacology, 85(6), 328-335. 10.1159/000312686
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Oral Health. Oral Health. Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://www.who.int/health-topics/oral-health#tab=tab_1
World Health Organization. (2017). Taxes on sugary drinks: Why do it? Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260253/WHO-NMH-PND-16.5Rev.1-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
World Health Organization. (2020, 03 25). Oral Health. Retrieved 07 21, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health
Author: Emily Chan
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