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Probiotics affect the clinical inflammatory parameters of experimental gingivitis in humans

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 857–863 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives:

To determine the effects of a probiotic milk drink consumed over a period of 28 days, regarding the expression of clinical inflammatory parameters of the oral gingiva during various phases of plaque-induced gingivitis.

Methods:

Twenty-eight adults with healthy gingiva took part in a prospective and clinical-controlled study. The test group was advised to consume a probiotic milk drink (Yacult) daily during a period of 4 weeks; the control group did not receive any probiotic food or drink. After 2 weeks of consumption of the probiotic drink, participants were advised not to brush their teeth for 14 days. Subsequently, at baseline as well as on days 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14, the following clinical parameters were assessed: plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) volume and bleeding on probing (BOP).

Results:

At baseline, the PI was significantly higher in the test group compared with controls (0.44±0.50 vs 0.09±0.24 PI; P=0.0001). The termination of oral hygiene increased clinical inflammatory parameters in both groups. At day 14, the parameters PI, GI, GCF volume and BOP were significantly higher compared with baseline values (P=0.0001). At day 14, BOP levels (18.75±12.32 vs 36.88±12.54%) and GCF volume (18.78±16.7 vs 35.72±16.1 Periotron units) were significantly lower in the test group compared with the control group (P=0.005).

Conclusion:

The results of our study indicate that a daily consumption of a probiotic milk drink reduces the effects of plaque-induced gingival inflammation associated with a higher plaque score due to the high-carbohydrate content of the probiotic milk beverage.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the HiLF research funding of Hanover Medical School.

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Author notes

  1. S Slawik and I Staufenbiel: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Prosthetic Dentistry and Biomedical Materials Science, Hanover Medical School, Hanover, Germany

    S Slawik, M Stiesch & J Eberhard

  2. Department of Conservative Dentistry, Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, Hanover Medical School, Hanover, Germany

    I Staufenbiel, R Schilke, S Nicksch & K Weinspach

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  1. S Slawik
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Correspondence to I Staufenbiel.

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Slawik, S., Staufenbiel, I., Schilke, R. et al. Probiotics affect the clinical inflammatory parameters of experimental gingivitis in humans. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 857–863 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.45

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