Probiotics - what is it and is it of any use?

Abstract

Current periodontal therapy is necessarily focused on the reduction of the microbial challenge and the conventional treatment of periodontitis involves mechanical subgingival debridement to reduce the total subgingival microbiota. The adjunctive use of local or systemic antibiotics may help to improve the outcome of periodontal therapy. However, the effect is only temporary and can be associated with the problem of increasing levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria. With the concept of microbial ecological change as a mechanism of preventing dental disease in mind, the use of probiotic therapy using harmless bacteria to displace and eliminate pathogenic bacterial species has been proposed as an alternative adjunctive therapeutic modality in the treatment of periodontitis. (author abstract)