Caries in the dental pulp result in inflammation and damage to the pulp tissue. The inflammatory process is molecularly characterized by the release of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as: IL-1尾, IL-6, TNF-伪, and NF-魏B.听Dental caries is caused by听厂.听尘耻迟补苍蝉听bacteria听which colonize and form a biofilm layer on the tooth surface.听Initially, dental caries only affect the enamel on the surface of the teeth.听However, over time, caries will expand to deeper parts of the teeth such as dentine and pulp if not treated immediately.听In the case of caries located on the side teeth, it has the potential to spread to the adjacent teeth if left unchecked.
Treatment for caries deep enough to involve dentine is听pulp capping听using calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH)听2听).听The use of Ca (OH)听2听aims to form reparative, apexification, and anti-microbial dentine in the root canal of teeth.听The side effect of the use of Ca (OH)听2听at certain doses and in the long term is tissue death (necrosis) in the tooth pulp chamber.听This condition causes the reparative dentine that is formed to be insufficient because of the necrosis that occurs.
Propolis is widely known as a product from bees which has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-tumor and anti-oxidant properties.听Propolis is also known to have a low level of toxicity to fibroblast cells so that it can reduce cell death rates and stimulate new fibroblast cell growth compared to Ca (OH)听2.
Pulp capping听therapy听using a combination of propolis and Ca (OH)听2听carried out on the teeth of experimental animals showed better results than听conventional听pulp capping听using only Ca (OH)听2.听It was characterized by increased levels of the cytokine IL-10, TLR-2., TGF-尾, VEGF.听The ability of propolis to increase the success rate of听pulp capping is听due to the content of flavonoids and CAPE (caffeic acid phenetyl ester).听Based on these results, propolis is a potential bio-product to be developed into听pulp capping听material听together with Ca (OH)听2., so the success rate of treatment will be higher than conventional techniques.
Author: Prof. Dr. Retno Pudji Rahayu, drg., M.Kes.
Details of this research can be viewed on:听https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.22409.1
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Rahayu听et al.,听2020. Combinations of Propolis and Ca(OH)2听in Dental Pulp Capping Treatment for The Stimulation of Reparative Dentin Formation in A Rat Model.听F1000Research, 9:308.听https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.22409.1
