How beneficial is bacterial prophylaxis to periodontal health?

Positive effect of curcumin on experimental peridontitis via suppression of IL-1-beta and IL-6 expression level

This study examined the effect of curcumin on T-helper (Th17) and T-regulatory (Treg) cells regarding the mRNA of cytokines/mediators in the gingiva. Thirty-five male albino Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Group 1: periodontitis (n = 9); Group 2: periodontitis with curcumin treatment (n = 8); Group 3: periodontally healthy with curcumin treatment (n = 10); and Group 4: periodontally healthy (n = 8). Curcumin was administered via oral gavage (30 mg/kg/day) for a total of 15 days. The gingival tissues were investigated regarding mRNA expressions of Th17/Treg cytokines with qRT-PCR. The distributional properties of the data were evaluated using the Anderson-Darling normality test. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were employed for multiple group comparisons. Partial least squares regression discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to evaluate the degree of contribution of each mRNA to the separation of treatment groups. When the periodontitis groups were compared, curcumin treatment resulted in lower IL-1β (Group 2 median: 0.002, Group 1 median: 0.12) and IL-6 (Group 2 median: 0.031, Group 1 median: 0.078) and higher IL-17 (Group 2 median: 1.07, Group 1 median: 0.583) relative mRNA expression in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p < 0.001). Group 3 also had higher IL-10 relative expression (median: 0.067) than Groups 1 and 4 (median: 0.028, 0.007, respectively. p < 0.001). These results indicate that curcumin might be a promising agent for the prevention and/or treatment of periodontal diseases due to its decreasing effect on IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA expression.

Lactobacillus salivarius NK02: a Potent Probiotic for Clinical Application in Mouthwash

A specific strain of naturally occurring oral lactobacilli was isolated and identified based on morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The phylogenetic affiliation of the isolate confirmed that the NK02 strain had close association with the Lactobacillus salivarius. An effective mouthwash was developed for treatment of periodontitis and suppression of the indicator bacterium Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans which is an obvious pathogen of periodontal disease. The mouthwash containing L. salivarius NK02 was tested at a dose level of 10⁸ (colony forming units (CFU) ml^-1), monitoring over a period of 4 weeks. The study was a randomized double-blind placebo control trial, and the patients were treated in two groups of control and test by using scaling and root planing (SRP) + placebo and scaling and root planing (SRP) + probiotic, respectively. It appeared that the probiotic mouthwash was able to inhibit the bacterial growth on both saliva and sub-gingival crevice and exhibited antibacterial activity against A. actinomycetemcomitans. The results also showed that SRP+ probiotic treatment led to a significant decrease of gingival index (GI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) compared with that of SRP + placebo for the probiotic group. The rate of decrease in pocket depth was displayed in the group with SRP + probiotic treatment equal to 1/2 mm, and probing pocket depth (PPD) value was decreased in the probiotic bacteria treatment group that can explain the decrease in inflammation in gingiva. Our findings suggest that probiotic mouthwash is healthy for daily use as an alternative for maintaining dental and periodontal health.

Embracing Personalized Medicine in Dentistry

Aim:

The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the number of articles in the area of personalized medicine specific to dentistry.

Materials and Methods:

Electronic search using three databases was performed using PubMed, Embase, and Scopus search.

Results:

Results suggest that there is a definite need for more awareness and research pertaining to this specific area.

Conclusion:

With this background, the authors have written a comprehensive review on applications of personalized medicine in various branches of dentistry.