2018 Volume 60 Issue 3 Pages 139-146
The lactic acid bacteria-produced extract, containing factors produced by lactic acid bacteria, has immunostimulatory and prokinetic functions. This study was aimed at assessing the effects of lactic acid bacteria-produced extract on the intraoral environment, based on clinical periodontal parameters, salivary test parameters, and bacterial DNA testing. Twenty adult outpatients undergoing periodontal supportive therapy at a dental clinic were selected as the study subjects. The subjects were randomly divided into the test or the placebo group. In the test group, the subjects were administered the lactic acid bacteria-produced extract daily for 8 weeks. This study was conducted in a double-blind manner. The clinical parameters assessed were the probing pocket depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PlI). Serum secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) titers, hemoglobin level (Hb), serum lactate dehydrogenase level (LD), and counts of the three periodontal disease-causing bacteria belonging to the so-called red complex group, namely, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g), Treponema denticola (T.d), and Tannerella forsythia (T.f), were assessed by culture of the saliva. The total intraoral bacterial count was also measured. All these parameters were measured at the start of the study (zero week), and at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the start of the study. The BOP and GI at 4 weeks, and the total bacterial counts from 4 weeks to 8 weeks were lower in the test group than in the placebo group. The PD also tended to improve with time in the test group as compared to the placebo group. Although the S-IgA levels were not significantly different between the two groups throughout the 8-week period, our findings suggest that administration of the lactic acid bacteria-produced extract played some role in the improvement of the periodontitis.