The Role of Propolis in Inflammation and Orofacial Pain: A Review

In recent years, the use of natural products and holistic or alternative medicine has gained popularity among the public, due to the potential side effects and safety concerns of conventional allopathic formulations. Natural products have been used since ancient times in folk medicine, involving both eastern and western traditional medicine. Among these natural products, a resinous bee product named propolis has gained popularity. It has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties. Due to these properties there has been an increasing interest in the use of bee propolis in contemporary dentistry. In dentistry propolis has been tried out almost in every field such as to treat oral cancer, recurrent ulcers, fungal infections, in restorative dentistry as a cariostatic, desensitizing and pulp capping agent, in endodontics as an intra-canal medicament, intra-canal irrigant, in dental trauma as a storage media for an avulsed tooth, in oral surgery to treat dry socket after tooth extraction, in prosthetics to treat denture stomatitis, in periodontics to treat gingivitis, periodontitis and to control bone resorption. Despite having numerous advantages and uses, the role of propolis in orofacial pain is probably the least understood. Hence, this review highlights the anti-inflammatory and pain relieving mechanisms of propolis at the molecular level in orofacial pain.