{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T12:06:27Z","timestamp":1790078787829,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":112,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789689600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Victor Babe\u0219 University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timi\u0219oara","id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00afdp487","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00afdp487","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Dent. J.","Dentistry Journal"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Thymol has been considered a possible bioactive phytocompound in dentistry due to its antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. The current narrative review aims to critically review the present evidence on biological properties, mechanism of action, formulations and applications of thymol in preventive dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics and emerging dental materials and delivery systems, highlighting the current limitations and future perspectives. Methods: A literature search was carried out on PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases. The search included publications related to thymol and its applications in oral health and dentistry. Results: The most recent evidence supports the adjunctive use of thymol in preventive and periodontal oral-care products, particularly in essential oil-based formulations. Moreover, recent advances in nanoformulations and dental materials suggest that its therapeutic potential can be further improved by optimized delivery systems. Conclusions: Thymol is a naturally occurring active compound that offers numerous benefits in various dental applications due to its multifaceted properties and safety profile. Preliminary and clinical evidence is encouraging, but more standardized clinical studies are needed to better define its long-term efficacy, optimal formulations, therapeutic concentrations, and clinical applicability in dentistry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/dj14090604","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T10:21:48Z","timestamp":1790072508000},"page":"604","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From Plant-Derived Compound to Bioactive Agent in Dentistry: The Expanding Role of Thymol"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Mhd Kher Alsaeyd","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 9 Revolutiei 1989 Ave., 300070 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4351-7726","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u0218tefania","family":"Dinu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pedodontics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 9 Revolutiei 1989 Ave., 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Pediatric Dentistry Research Center, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 9 No., Revolutiei Bv., 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8791-2001","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u0218tefania-Irina","family":"Dumitrel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluations, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Toxicology, Drug Industry, Management and Legislation, Faculty of Pharmacy, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Sq. No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3852-9060","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ramona Amina","family":"Popovici","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Management and Communication in Dental Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Doina","family":"Chioran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology and Oral Surgery, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Sq. No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"Research Center of Dento-Alveolar Surgery, Anesthesia and Sedation in Dental Medicine, \u201cVictor Babe\u0219\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Sq. No. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2026, May 12). Oral Health. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/health-topics\/oral-health#tab=tab_1."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"120","article-title":"Effectiveness of herbal oral care products in reducing dental plaque and gingivitis: An overview of systematic reviews","volume":"58","author":"Mehta","year":"2024","journal-title":"Can. J. Dent. Hyg."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, L., Zhang, Q., Yang, D., Yang, S., Zhao, Y., Jiang, M., Wang, X., Zhao, L., Liu, Q., and Lu, Z. (2023). Tooth loss and the risk of cognitive decline and dementia: A meta-analysis of cohort studies. Front. 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