Utilização de probióticos em medicina dentária

Abstract

Introduction: The knowledge of the structure of microbial communities associated with humans, as well as the recognition of the beneficial functions for the host that microorganisms perform, has triggered the search for and development of probiotic and prebiotic solutions. The application of probiotics and prebiotics to oral health, although it has recently emerged, is in great expansion not only as therapeutic solutions, but as preventive actions for the appearance of oral and even systemic pathologies. The aim of this systematic review is to verify whether the use of probiotics provides a change in the oral microbiome, and whether it has an impact on the incidence of caries. Materials and methods: The review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. The literature was searched between 2011 and 2022, in computerized bibliographic databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE®, Web of Science/MEDLINE® and Cochrane® until April 9, 2022 using the following query "(((probiotics) OR (prebiotics)) AND (caries))". Results: A total of 376 articles were analyzed, of which 35 were excluded because they did not identify microorganisms. We selected 80 articles that were analyzed in full. The results show that published studies indicate that more than half of the species used as probiotics have a positive effect on the incidence of caries. However, 5 species did not show an effect and 6 species are reported with different results depending on the authors. Conclusion: Although in most cases studies indicate that probiotics have a positive effect on the incidence of caries, there is evidence that some of the probiotics have no effect and that others do not have consistent results, which may be linked to the form and time of application. Thus, it is concluded that the potential use of probiotics as prevention and therapy of dental caries although present requires further studies.

Date of Award	14 Jul 2022
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria José Correia (Supervisor), Ana Sofia Duarte (Co-Supervisor) & Pedro Lopes (Co-Supervisor)