Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Probiotics
are microorganisms, mainly bacteria, which benefit the host's health.
Many studies support the role of probiotics as a contributor to
gastrointestinal health, and nowadays many authors are trying to prove
its influence in oral health maintenance.
OBJECTIVES:
To
review the published literature with the purpose of knowing the
importance of using probiotics as a preventive and therapeutic method
for oral infectious diseases management.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
An
electronic search in PubMed database with the keywords "oral health AND
probiotics AND dentistry" was conducted. The inclusion criteria were:
randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that assess the action of any
probiotic strain in the treatment and / or prevention of an infectious
oral disease, RCTs that assess the action of any probiotic strain on
counting colony forming units (CFU) of oral pathogens, systematic
reviews and meta-analysis. The Jadad scale was used to assess the high
quality of RCTs.
RESULTS:
Fifteen
articles were considered for this review. Of which, 12 were RCTs of
good / high quality (Jadad scale), two meta-analysis and one systematic
review.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
literature reviewed suggests probiotics usage could be beneficial for
the maintenance of oral health, due to its ability to decrease the
colony forming units (CFU) counts of the oral pathogens. However,
randomized clinical trials with long-term follow-up periods are needed
to confirm their efficacy in reducing the prevalence/incidence of oral
infectious diseases. Furthermore, the recognition of specific strains
with probiotic activity for each infectious oral disease is required, in
order to determine exact dose, treatment time and ideal vehicles.
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