title: The role of probiotic bacteria in managing periodontal disease: a systematic review.
abstract: The frequent recolonization of treated sites by periodontopathogens and the emergence of antibiotic resistance have led to a call for new therapeutic approaches for managing periodontal diseases. As probiotics are considered a new tool for combating infectious diseases, we systematically reviewed the evidences for their effectiveness in the management of periodontitis.
  
  
  
  An electronic search was performed in the MEDLINE, SCOPUS and Cochrane Library databases up to March 2016 using the terms 'periodontitis', 'chronic periodontitis', 'probiotic(s)', 'prebiotic(s)', 'symbiotic(s)', 'Bifidobacterium and 'Lactobacillus'. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the present study. Analysis of 12 RCTs revealed that in general, oral administration of probiotics improved the recognized clinical signs of chronic and aggressive periodontitis such as probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, and attachment loss, with a concomitant reduction in the levels of major periodontal pathogens. Continuous probiotic administration, laced mainly with Lactobacillus species, was necessary to maintain these benefits. Expert commentary: Oral administration of probiotics is a safe and effective adjunct to conventional mechanical treatment (scaling) in the management of periodontitis, specially the chronic disease entity. Their adjunctive use is likely to improve disease indices and reduce the need for antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: a School of Dentistry , The University of Queensland, (UQ Oral Health Centre) , Brisbane , Australia.|b Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences , University of São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.|c School of Dentistry , University of São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.
authors.forename: Victor Haruo
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Matsubara
authors.affiliation: a School of Dentistry , The University of Queensland, (UQ Oral Health Centre) , Brisbane , Australia.
authors.forename: H M H N
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bandara
authors.affiliation: b Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences , University of São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.
authors.forename: Karin Hitomi
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.affiliation: b Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences , University of São Paulo , São Paulo , Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcia Pinto Alves
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: a School of Dentistry , The University of Queensland, (UQ Oral Health Centre) , Brisbane , Australia.
authors.forename: Lakshman Perera
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Samaranayake
mesh_terms: D001644:Bifidobacterium; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D012534:Dental Scaling; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000517:prevention & control; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000517:prevention & control; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Lactobacillus; Periodontal diseases; Streptococcus; dental hygiene; inflammation; periodontitis; probiotics