Topical Antioxidants

March 17, 2020 Lee Ann Brady DMD

It used to be a challenge for me to help patients who came in with recurrent aphthous ulcers, lichen planus or erosive lichen planus, burning mouth, burning tongue, or geographic tongue that was uncomfortable. I’d worry about the pharmaceutical reactions of prescription options such as prednisone, steroid mouth rinses, and lidocaine rinses. Now, that challenge is greatly reduced due to the success we have had treating these problems with nonprescription topical antioxidants. 

There is a group of nonprescription topical antioxidant products that I rely on weekly from PerioSciences. These products not only promote healing but also provide significant relief from soft tissue pain, xerostomia, and burning sensations in the mouth. This is PerioSciences’ AO ProVantage line of mouthwashes, gel, and toothpasteThey are without a doubt the best products I have come across in my career for oral medicine applications. They were developed by dental scientists and other researchers and contain two antioxidants from the skin of apples. The products are marketed to help with a number of things in addition to oral wound healing, for example, to treat superficial gingivitis and to maintain patients who are at advanced risk of perio inflammation.  

In my practice, I have two patients who have chronic erosive lichen planus. We discovered that the application of the AO ProVantage gel to a lesion, four or more times a day, allows the body to heal the lesion. Within three to four weeks, the lesion is gone completely. After lesions are gone, my patients stop using the gel and start using AO ProRinse three to four times a day to prevent the outbreak of another erosive lesion. If they get another lesion, they go back to using the gel. The mouth rinse has reduced the number of outbreaks for these patients, and having these products on hand, has allowed my patients to successfully manage outbreaks on their own. 

I have lots of older patients who suffer with burning mouth or burning tongue. AO ProRinse mouth rinses have worked well for them. Some of my patients have severe dry mouth in association with the burning—some with Sjogren’s syndrome, some with Lupus disease. We start them on the hydrating formula of AO ProRinse, and they rinse their mouths four to six times a day with remarkable results. It’s also been of great value to my patients going through chemotherapy to keep their mouths hydrated and comfortable.  

The PerioSciences products are nonprescription and now readily available via AmazonOnce introduced to the products and given guidance, my patients have found it easy to determine when to start using the products and how often to use them. Topical antioxidants are just one more example of industry breakthroughs I am grateful to have in my clinical toolkit and widely available to patients.  

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Lee Ann Brady DMD

Dr. Lee Ann Brady is passionate about dentistry, her family and making a difference. She is a general dentist and owns a practice in Glendale, AZ limited to restorative dentistry. Lee’s passion for dental education began as a CE junkie herself, pursuing lots of advanced continuing education focused on Restorative and Occlusion. In 2005, she became a full time resident faculty member for The Pankey Institute, and was promoted to Clinical Director in 2006. Lee joined Spear Education as Executive VP of Education in the fall of 2008 to teach and coordinate the educational curriculum. In June of 2011, she left Spear Education, founded leeannbrady.com and joined the dental practice she now owns as an associate. Today, she teaches at dental meetings and study clubs both nationally and internationally, continues to write for dental journals and her website, sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry, Inside Dentistry and DentalTown Magazines and is the Director of Education for The Pankey Institute.

4 thoughts on “Topical Antioxidants

  1. I have patients who swear by this stuff!!! After trying everything else under the sun, this seems to work better than anything. And really works well for patients with Lichen Plannus.

  2. I’ve had severe burning tongue syndrome for over 20 yrs. I’m in pain meds. I would love to find something to help to go off meds. My life has been ruined.

    1. You may love the gel. You can purchase it on Amazon, or from your dentist. You can use it on your tongue 4 times per day, and also use the rinse.

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