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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted increasing attention for its potential role in the management of chronic inflammatory diseases. In this context, we read with great interest the recent review by Liu et al. entitled “Traditional Chinese Medicine: An Effective Adjuvant Treatment of Periodontitis” (Liu et al. 2025). The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the potential roles of TCM as an adjunctive approach in periodontitis management, summarizing current evidence on its anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and osteogenic differentiation properties. Despite the overall strengths of the review, several aspects would benefit from further clarification. First, the rationale for selecting the five highlighted TCM agents as the main focus of the discussion is not explicitly described. Although the pharmacological effects of these agents are comprehensively summarized, it remains unclear why other well-established TCM monomers with reported therapeutic potential in periodontitis, such as baicalin and curcumin (Sczepanik et al. 2020; Li et al. 2024), were not included, which may lead readers to interpret the chosen agents as broadly representative of the field. A brief explanation of the basis for inclusion would enhance the transparency of this narrative review and help provide a more balanced perspective on current TCM-based adjunctive approaches. From a translational perspective, a clearer distinction between preclinical biological activity and clinical efficacy would further strengthen the review. In the Abstract and Conclusions, TCM is described as demonstrating favorable therapeutic effects; however, the evidence summarized in Table S1 of Liu et al. is based on in vitro and in vivo experiments, with only limited randomized clinical trial (RCT) data reflected in the table. Although a meta-analysis of 13 RCTs of Yunvjian decoction is mentioned, the principal characteristics of these studies are not summarized. Information regarding patient demographics, control interventions, primary outcomes, and follow-up duration would help readers better appreciate the scope and quality of the available clinical evidence. Additionally, their Table S1 includes mechanistic data from non-periodontal inflammatory models, such as a skin inflammatory model (Zhang et al. 2022) and an acute lung injury model (Zhang et al. 2025). While these findings offer useful biological insight, distinguishing them more explicitly from periodontal models would further enhance the clarity and translational interpretation of the review. Finally, the mechanistic discussion could be strengthened by addressing potential crosstalk among the signaling pathways described. Although the review outlines the molecular mechanisms of individual agents, these pathways are largely presented as independent processes. In the context of periodontal inflammation, however, signaling cascades commonly interact and form interconnected regulatory networks. For example, berberine has been reported to exert its anti-inflammatory effects by promoting GPR30 expression, which subsequently suppresses the downstream activity of the p38MAPK/NF-κB signaling (Gu et al. 2021). This type of upstream regulation suggests that the observed effects may not result from isolated pathway inhibition but from coordinated network modulation. A brief integrative summary or schematic illustration of these pathway interactions would help clarify how such multi-target regulation contributes to periodontal homeostasis and may further enhance the conceptual depth of the review. Overall, we commend Liu et al. for their comprehensive review of TCM in periodontitis management. Clarifying agent selection criteria, more clearly distinguishing preclinical from clinical evidence, and integrating mechanistic pathways within a network-based framework would further enhance the transparency, translational relevance, and conceptual depth of the work. Shuang Pang: writing – original draft, funding acquisition, methodology. Qinghao Yan: writing – review and editing, validation. Liping Yue: conceptualization, writing – review and editing, project administration. This work was supported by the 2025 Key Research Project of Shanghai Sanda University (No. 2025ZD01). This work was supported by Shanghai Sanda University under the 2025 Key Research Project (No. 2025ZD01). The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors have nothing to report.