1Graduate Student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha University, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
2Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha University, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
In recent years, bacteria known as probiotics have been added to various foods because of their beneficial effects for human health. However, the main field of research has been in the gastrointestinal tract. But, in the past few years probiotics have also been investigated in the oral health perspectives. The mechanism of action of probiotics is related to their ability to compete with pathogenic microorganisms for adhesion sites, to antagonize these pathogens or to modulate the host's immune response. The potential application of probiotics for oral health has recently attracted the attention of several teams of researchers. Although only a few clinical studies have been conducted so far, the results to date suggest that probiotics could be useful in preventing and treating oral infections, including dental caries, periodontal disease and halitosis. This review article summarizes themechanism of action and currently available data on the potential benefits of probiotics for oral health.
Probiotics, lactobacillus species, dental caries, streptococcus mutans
