Functional and Organic Foods in Enhancing the Oral and Dental Health and Hygiene—A Comprehensive Review

Maintaining oral and dental hygiene, it is significantly related to individuals' quality of life as well as systemic health. Despite its importance, oral health is often overlooked, especially among underserved populations who face barriers to accessing dental care. This neglect exacerbates health inequalities and leads to a cycle of poor health outcomes. Understanding these factors can lead to targeted interventions as well as appropriate public health strategies to improve access to dental care and promote healthy practices. Nutrition is recognized as an essential component in the prevention of oral and dental diseases. Based on these considerations, a better understanding of how diet, and in particular nutrients intake, influences the potential relationship between nutrition and oral and dental diseases including periodontal disease, oral mucositis, root canal infection, halitosis, etc. is needed. Among the innovations developed in the food market are products called functional foods, and recent trends in food demand indicate that consumers are increasingly aware of the link between diet and health. Functional and organic foods contain effective and non-toxic bioactive compounds, which have potential benefits effect on health beyond their basic nutritional value. The relationship between food products with the approach of functional and organic foods has been investigated in various studies and it seems that the bioactive substances in herbs, fruits, vegetables, probiotics, etc. can control or treat the risks associated with oral diseases. A notable trend in the food industry is the technological advancement and development of an industrial chain that has shifted from functional agriculture to functional food, involving the selective use of plants, microorganisms, etc. as biological platforms for enriching nutrients in products with health-promoting properties. This review aims to examine and introduce functional and organic foods and their application in dentistry for the prevention and treatment of oral and dental illnesses.