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. 2025 May 27:6:1484364.
doi: 10.3389/froh.2025.1484364. eCollection 2025.

Effects of pomegranate extract on preventing dental caries: a systematic review

Niyousha Rafeie #  1 , Yasaman Salimi #  2 , Zahra Sadat Aghamir  3 , Amirhesam Amini  4 , Hamed Taheri  5 , Sarvin Sadreddini  6 , Fatemeh Kamali  3 , Golnesa Akbarian  7 , Nazanin Azizi  3 , Mobina Bagherianlemraski  8 , Maryam Valizadeh  9 , Farnoosh Alimohammadi  10 , Negar Sedighnia  11 , Mohammad Qadirifard #  12 , Mahdyieh Naziri #  13
Affiliations

Effects of pomegranate extract on preventing dental caries: a systematic review

Niyousha Rafeie et al. Front Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background/purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of pomegranate extract on the prevention of dental caries compared to standard care, placebo, and no intervention.

Materials and methods: A bibliographic search in four databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and CENTRAL, yielded 291 studies until September 8, 2023. The search was performed among the studies written in English using the search terms "Punica granatum" AND ("dental caries" OR "Streptococcus mutans" OR "tooth demineralization") After screening the titles/abstracts and full texts of these studies, 7 articles were chosen.

Results: In all 7 articles, pomegranate mouthwash was used as the intervention. In 5 studies, the control group used 0.2% chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash. Additionally, 4 articles reported a reduction in the mean Streptococcus mutans plaque count in both groups; however, better results were observed in the CHX mouthwash group. In one study, no significant difference was reported between the study and control groups. Finally, one study showed the significant superiority of a hydroalcoholic extract of pomegranate mouthwash over CHX mouthwash.

Conclusion: Overall, the results suggest that pomegranate extract mouthwash is highly effective in reducing caries-causing bacteria. No side effects were reported for pomegranate use in these studies.

Systematic review registration: https://osf.io/69gpc/.

Keywords: Punica granatum; Streptococcus mutans; dental caries; pomegranate; tooth demineralization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart used for detailing the database searches, the number of abstracts screened, and the full texts retrieved.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Quality assessment of the articles included in the present study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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