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Published on: May 9, 2022
Effects of Probiotics on Oral Microbiological Environment, Gingival Health, and Dental Plaque: A Meta-Analysis
Mehwash Kashif1,2, Mahmooda Kazmi, Asfahan Shah1,2
1Department of Oral Pathology, Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan.
Abstract:
This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effects of probiotics on dental plaque, gingival health, and the oral microbiological environment. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched, and the Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies. Thirteen randomised clinical trials were included, enrolling 321 participants. Probiotics had positive effects on gingival index (GI) scores (p = 0.04), with no statistically significant improvement in plaque index scores (p = 0.64) or bleeding on probing (p = 0.92). No significant differences were observed in IL-1β levels; Prevotella intermedia (p = 0.37), Fusobacterium nucleatum (p = 0.11), Porphyromonas gingivalis (p = 0.13), Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (p = 0.16) counts; or gingival crevicular fluid volumes (p = 0.94). The probiotics intervention had a substantial impact on GI score. These findings suggest that probiotics may improve gingival health and offer adjunctive treatment for gingivitis and periodontal disease. Key Words: Dental plaque, Gingival health, Microbiological environment, Oral, Probiotics.
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