Our parents, nutritionist keep saying to eat beetroots as a salad and juice, but we keep on ignoring them. Surprisingly beetroot is considered an exploratory, well-tolerated adjunct in maintenance of oral hygiene in OLP patients.
Oral lichen plants are chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disorders. It is an autoimmune disease. Common symptoms are white interlacing lines on both sides of the cheeks which disappear while stretching. It is usually painless. It can also be bright red, swollen tissues open sores that cause a burning sensation and pain.
Beetroot juice mouth acts as a natural mouthrinse, short term Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and salivary nitric-oxide. Beetroot juice reduces bacterial colonisation like Streptococcus sp. on dental plaque.
It also converts dietary nitrates into nitric oxide which later on helps in vasodilation and improve blood vessel function. While chlorhexidine (CHX) is considered a gold standard chemical plaque control agent, OLP patients find it discomforting while using them. Beetroot being the natural mouthrinses helps in soothing and treating and controlling plaque.
Reference: Maintenance of oral hygiene with beetroot rinse in gingivitis patient with oral lichen planus
What are your thoughts on this ?
MBH/DB