THE BENEFIST OF BETEL LEAF ON TEETH AND MOUTH

NAMA: NUR HIKMAH

NIM: 221051063

KELAS: GIGI B

THE BENEFITS OF BETEL LEAF 

ON TEETH AND MOUTH

Medicinal plants are a source of traditional medicinal ingredients that are widely used for generations.  Utilization of natural materials can be chosen as an alternative to preventing dental caries.cheap and rarely cause side effects compared to drugs made from synthetic materials.One of the plants used in the health sector, namely betel leaf (piper betle L) is a medicinal plant that belongs to the Piperaceae family.  This plant is commonly found in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries. The part of the betel nut that is used is the leaves, roots, stems, stalks and fruit. This plant has a stature in the form of a woody shrub at the base.  reaches 15 meters stem point cylindrical with real books, grooved, young stems are green, old stems are light brown.  Single leaf, alternate location, leaf blade oval to oval.  The base of the leaf is heart-shaped or rounded, 5 to 18 cm long and 2.5 to 10.75 cm wide.  The inflorescence is in the form of a compound flower strand, protective leaves approximately 1 mm in diameter, male and female, fruit points round and grayish green, 1 to 1.5 cm thick, seeds slightly rounded, 3.5 to 5 mm long.

betel leaves are often used as traditional medicine.  Betel leaf is very popular in Asia and is often referred to as the golden heart of nature.  This is because betel leaf has effects such as antimicrobial, radioprotective, antioxidant, antiseptic, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, wound healing, anti-platelet, antibacterial, antifungal and has immunomodulatory activity.  characteristics in Indonesia have several types that are distinguished by leaf shape, taste and aroma, namely green betel, object betel, clove betel, black betel and red betel.

Betel leaf has been proven to have antibacterial and antifungal properties.  Green betel leaves contain phenol propanoid compounds, tannins and essential oils consisting of betelphenol, kavikol, estragol, augenol and karvakol.  These compounds have strong antibacterial and antifungal properties and can inhibit the growth of several types of bacteria.  The oil and its extracts can fight some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.  Phenol compounds and their derivatives can denature bacterial cell proteins.  The euganol compound is bactericidal by increasing the permeability of the bacterial membrane.

In Southeast Asia, betel leaf has been known as a plant that can be used to control caries and periodontal disease and also to control bad breath (halitosis).  The use of betel leaf as a treatment for dental and oral diseases has been widely carried out because it contains chemical compounds including alkaloids, carbohydrates, amino acids, tannins and steroids.  The use of betel leaves can strengthen teeth, heal small wounds in the mouth, eliminate body odor, stop bleeding gums, and as a mouthwash.  Its chemical content is antiseptic because betel leaves contain essential oils.  The antibacterial power of betel leaf essential oil is due to the content of phenolic compounds and their derivatives which can denature bacterial cell proteins.

BETEL LEAF BENEFIST FOR TEETH AND MOUTH

1. Prevent bad breath

The first benefit of betel leaf that you can get is being able to prevent bad breath.  This is because, in the betel leaf there is an essential oil content which contains the substance allylpyrocatechol.  This substance is useful to bind the bacteria that cause bad breath.

2. Prevent the formation of dental plaque

In addition to preventing bad breath, betel leaf is also useful in preventing the formation of dental plaque.  This happens because the betel leaf content will make the cavity in the mouth tend to be alkaline so that the bacteria that cause dental plaque will be reduced.

3. Reducing the risk of caries

The next benefit of betel leaf for teeth and mouth is to reduce the risk of dental caries.  This one benefit was mentioned in a study which explained that there was a change in the acidity of the saliva before and after brushing your teeth containing betel leaf extract.  This alkaline condition of saliva makes caries-causing bacteria unable to survive.

4. Treat toothache

The benefits that can be obtained from the last betel leaf are able to treat toothache.  Generally, toothaches are caused by bacteria left behind due to food scraps, but by chewing betel leaves the bacteria that cause toothache will be killed so that the toothache will subside.

SIDE EFFECTS OF USING BETEL LEAF

Although betel leaf is well-known for its benefits for teeth and mouth, its use that is not quite right can have a bad impact.  This is because, the activity of chewing betel leaves or betel nut which was carried out by the ancient people involved certain ingredients that had to be mixed.

Some of the mixed ingredients for chewing betel leaves are feared to be carcinogenic which can have an impact on health conditions.  If done in the long term, it is not impossible for several diseases to appear, such as mouth cancer, esophageal cancer, and throat cancer.