Denture stomatitis (DS), usually caused by Candida infection, is one of the common denture-related complications in patients wearing dentures. Clove and cinnamon oils have been acknowledged for their anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial activity, and antifungal effects in the oral cavity. The aim of this study, therefore, was to prepare clove/cinnamon oils-loaded emulgel and to assess its efficacy in treating Candida albicans-associated denture stomatitis. Central composite design was adopted to formulate and optimize clove/cinnamon extracts-loaded emulgel. The formulated preparations were assessed for their physical appearance, particle size, viscosity, spreadability, and in-vitro drug release. In addition, in-vivo therapeutic experiments were conducted on 42 patients with denture stomatitis. The prepared emulgel formulations showed good physical characteristics with efficient drug release within 3 h. In addition, in-vivo antifungal studies revealed that the optimized formula significantly (p < 0.001) reduced Candida colony counts from the denture surface, compared to commercially available gel (240.38 ± 27.20 vs. 398.19 ± 66.73 CFU/mL, respectively). Furthermore, the optimized formula and succeeded in alleviating denture stomatitis-related inflammation with a better clinical cure rate compared to commercially available gel Collectively, herbal extracts-loaded emulgel might be considered an evolution of polyherbal formulations and might represent a promising alternative to the existing allopathic drugs for the treatment of denture stomatitis, with better taste acceptability and no side effects.

Background: Edentulism is a debilitating and irreversible condition. It is often accompanied by compromises in the surrounding joint’s range of motion and changes in the posture of the head. The natural head position is maintained by a balanced tension between cranio-cervical bones, myofacial structures and the dental occlusion. Loss of teeth may cause changes in the head posture that may disturb the patency of the spinal cord and lead to the loss of postural balance. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the head posture in the edentulous subjects before and after prosthetic rehabilitation. Methods: A total of 16 completely edentulous subjects were selected for the study. Removable complete denture prosthesis was fabricated for all the subjects. Lateral photographs were taken at different time intervals i.e., pre-rehabilitation, 30 minutes, 2 days and 30 days post-rehabilitation. The cranio-vertical angle obtained was digitally calculated using Kinovea software and the results obtained were statistically analysed. Results: The paired-sample t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance showed an increase in the cranio-vertical angulation of edentulous subjects after rehabilitation, indicating a mild extension of the head. Conclusion: The insertion of prosthesis leads to a mild extension of the head. Hence, rehabilitation with a removable prosthesis has a positive effect on the head posture and could therefore aid in maintaining a stable head posture.