Probiotics: How Promising are they in Promoting Periodontal Health.

With the widespread emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the concept of probiotic therapy has been considered for application in oral health. Dental caries, periodontal disease and halitosis are among the oral disorders that have been targeted. More than 700 species of oral microbiota have been detected in the human mouth and the resident microbiota of an individual may consist of 30-100 species. Studies suggest that lactobacilli as members of resident oral microflora could play an important role in the microecological balance in the oral cavity.

Probiotics and Their Efficacy in Improving Oral Health: A Review.

The changing food habits and lifestyle has resulted in deterioration of oral health in the people of all ages. The increasing global problems with the traditional disease management strategies have prompted the investigators to hunt for the new and better alternatives to deal with health issues. The global demand for chemical free, less harmful and easier solutions to health problems has increased in past few years. Probiotics or the foods with ‘live cultures’ have come up as one of the most promising alternate to traditional disease management. Probiotics are those viable microorganisms which are constituents of natural microflora of human body. Probiotic therapy decreases the risk of colonization by oral pathogens without depleting the friendly microflora. Probiotics resembles the human body microbiota and are readily incorporated in the natural microflora of human body. They are harmless and easy to consume in many edible forms (such as cheese, yoghurt, etc.). The inability of the antibiotics to discriminate good bacteria from the disease causing bacteria, the development of antimicrobial resistant mutants and the increasing rate of antibiotic associated side effects and complications suggests an urgent need to switch our therapeutic approach from traditional antibiotics to the probiotic therapy for oral care. The use of probiotics in routine life is likely to improve the oral health. This review demonstrates the action of Probiotics on oral health and disease.