Bacteriotherapy and probiotics' role on oral health

Abstract

Oral infections constitute some of the most common and costly forms of infections in humans. The concept of microbial ecological change as a mechanism for preventing dental disease is an important one while altered microbial ecology may lead to dental disease. New methods such as probiotic approaches (i.e. whole bacteria replacement therapy) to eliminate pathogenic members of the microbiota can be investigated. Bacteriotherapy is an alternative and promising way to combat infections by using harmless bacteria to displace pathogenic microorganisms. Probiotics are one of these new agents which are widely used for their therapeutic action. Limited research is available showing that some probiotic cultures may help dental improvement. Present paper focuses on possible oral benefits of probiotics.