Probiotics for periodontal health: a review of the literature.

PURPOSE: Periodontal disease is common among U.S. adults, and the practice of dental hygiene can be improved by new treatments to control periodontal inflammation and destruction. Probiotics, which are defined as live microbes that confer health benefits to a host when consumed in sufficient quantities, may offer a low-risk, easy-to-use treatment option for periodontal diseases. Experimental probiotic treatments in-vivo and explorations in-vitro published from 2005 to 2010 characterize the effects of specific probiotic strains on factors in periodontal health. Data considered includes clinical parameters such as gingival index, plaque index, periodontal probing depths and bleeding on probing, inhibition versus colonization of known periodontal pathogens and markers of the host immune response. Results of these studies suggest that probiotics may benefit periodontal health. Some of the most promising results occurred when the probiotic treatment was delivered in the form of a lozenge and combined with the traditional treatment of scaling and root planing. Existing commercial probiotic products for periodontal health refer to some of these data. Dosage may also play a role in probiotic efficacy for the periodontium. More research is needed to define the optimal strain or strains, therapeutic dosage, delivery mechanism and patient profile for periodontal probiotics.