ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Review Article | Open Access
Chinnadurai Shanthi1 , R. Ganesamoorthy2, Bhuvanesh Kumar Dharani Vidhya1, Vignesh Veerakumar1, Deepak Ravi1, Peter Richard Stevenson1, Naveen Thakur3 and Ashwani Tapwal3
1Department of Prosthodontics and Crown and Bridge, Vinayaka Mission’s Sankarachariyar Dental College, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (DU), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Department of Chemistry, Vinayaka Mission’s Kirupananda Variyar Arts and Science College, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (DU), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.
3ICFRE-Himalayan Forest Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Article Number: 10964 | © The Author(s). 2025
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2025;19(4):2591-2609. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.19.4.50
Received: 17 September 2025 | Accepted: 28 October 2025 | Published online: 04 December 2025
Issue online: December 2025
Abstract

India’s elderly population, constituting about 7.7% of the total demographic, faces significant oral health challenges, exacerbated by limited access to dental care, cognitive impairments, and financial constraints. Among common issues is denture stomatitis, often resulting from poor denture hygiene. Green tea (Camellia sinensis), known for its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, offers a promising, cost-effective natural alternative for maintaining oral hygiene. Historically used for medicinal purposes across Asia, green tea contains polyphenols particularly EGCG that exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. These bioactive compounds effectively combat pathogens like Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, while also neutralizing volatile sulfur compounds associated with halitosis. Moreover, green tea catechins aid in managing periodontitis and show potential in suppressing oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, current evidence remains largely restricted to in vitro and formulation-level investigations; extensive clinical validation and methodological standardization are essential to enable translational implementation in geriatric oral healthcare. This review highlights green tea’s therapeutic potential as a denture cleanser and oral health adjunct, especially for elderly individuals in resource-limited settings, promoting accessible, natural solutions for comprehensive oral care.

Keywords

Green Tea, Oral Health, Elderly Population, Denture Stomatitis, Antimicrobial Properties

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© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.