Review Article
Year: 2016 | Month: November | Volume: 6 | Issue: 11 | Pages: 239-245
Probiotics - A New Horizon in Prevention of Oral Disease
Soni Rajput1, Manjunath P Puranik2, Uma S.R.3
1Post Graduate student, 2Professor and Head of the Department, 3Assistant Professor,
Dept of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College and Research Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka-560002
Corresponding Author: Soni Rajput
ABSTRACT
Probiotics are live microbial feed supplement that beneficially affects the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Possible mechanisms of action of probiotics in human body are normalisation of the microbiota, modulation of the immune response and metabolic effects. Probiotic bacteria guard the oral health by competing with the oral pathogens for nutrients, growth factors and site of adhesion. Most commonly used oral probiotic strains are lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium. Lozenges, chewing gums, dairy foods are considered useful vehicles for probiotic bacteria. Hence, the aim of this comprehensive review is to present an update about the current status of probiotics in terms of its application in oral health.
Key words: Bifidobacterium, lactobacilli, oral health, probiotics, review.