PROBIOTICS ( in oral health )

Probiotics are described as live micro-organisms which when administered in adequate numbers confer a health benefit on the host (FAO/WHO). The term probiotic, meaning “for life,” is derived from the Greek language. It was first used by Lilly and Stillwell in 1965 to describe “substances secreted by one microorganism which stimulates the growth of another” and thus was contrasted with the term antibiotic

SUGGESTED MECHANISM

1)immune modulation, 2)modulation of gut immunological mechanisms, 3)mucin production, 4)down regulation of inflammatory responses, 5)secretion of antimicrobial substances, 6)competition with other flora, including potential pathogens by competitive blocking of adhesion sites at epithelial and mucosal surfaces,7) and inhibition of epithelial invasion by regulation of intestinal permeability, 8)inhibition of pathogens mucosal adherence and stimulation of immunoglobin A production.

                                          REF: Rev Clín Pesq Odontol. 2010