Role of Probiotics in Periodontics Review Article

Abstract

The concept of microbial ecological change as a mechanism for preventing dental disease is an important one while altered microbial ecology may lead to a dental disease. New methods such as probiotic approaches (i.e. whole bacteria replacement therapy) to eliminate pathogenic members of the microbiota can be investigated. Bacteriotherapy is an alternative and promising way to combat infections by using harmless bacteria to displace pathogenic microorganisms. Probiotics are one of the new agents which are widely used for their therapeutic action.Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease that encompasses the hard and soft tissue, microbial colonization (with or without invasion), inflammatory responses and adaptive immune responses. Treatment of periodontal diseases in recent years has moved towards an antibiotic/antimicrobial model of disease management. Probiotics might be a promising area of research in the treatment of periodontitis with limited scientific research. So extensive studies are needed to know about the interaction of probiotic species and periodontal pathogens and also about their effect on periodontium.