CBD-supplemented Polishing Powder Enhances Tooth Polishing by Inhibiting Dental Plaque Bacteria

OBJECTIVE: Air polishing is a safe tooth polishing technique used by dental professionals for stain and plaque removal and as a preventive procedure for dental health. We previously reported the antibacterial properties of cannabinoids against dental plaque bacteria. The objective of this study was to analyze the possibilities to improvise the existing air-polishing technique by supplementing cannabinoid powder into the classic polishing powder for effective removal of supragingival and subgingival plaque and for inhibition of plaque-forming bacteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cannabidiol (CBD) powder was added to the tooth polishing powder (AIR-N-GO, classic) at a 1% (wt/wt) ratio. The study was conducted on 12 patients, of whom six received regular polishing treatment and six received CBD-supplemented polishing treatment. The dental plaque samples were collected before and after each treatment and subjected to in vitro microbiological analysis, and the colony forming units (CFU) were analyzed by using an automated colony counter. RESULTS: Based on in vitro microbiological analysis, the average CFU of interdental space samples collected from post-CBD-supplemented polishing treatment was significantly reduced (linear fold change between 3.9 and 18.4) compared with that of postregular polishing (linear fold change between 1.0 and 2.6) treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The CBD-supplemented polishing powder can help in effective removal and killing of dental plaque bacteria during the polishing treatment; it can also be added as an enhancing supplement to the existing polishing powders.