The antimicrobial activity of essential oils and essential oil components towards oral bacteria
Dentistry uses essential oils for root canal therapy, temporary fillings, and periodontal treatments. However, little investigation has been done with regard to limiting pathologic bacterium with the exception of Streptococcus mutans.
These authors have investigated and discovered that the botanical oils, Australian tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and sage oil were potent oils in regard to antimicrobial properties against laboratory strains of obligate anaerobes and capnophilic miaoaerophiles tested. [D.R.H.]
Shapiro, S., A. Meier, and B. Guggenheim, Oral Microbiol Immunol, 9:202,1994