IMR Press / FBE / Volume 15 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbe1504023
Open Access Review
Novel Strategies for Preventing Dysbiosis in the Oral Cavity
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1 Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal
*Correspondence: ftavaria@ucp.pt (Freni K Tavaria)
Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed) 2023, 15(4), 23; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbe1504023
Submitted: 3 August 2023 | Revised: 12 September 2023 | Accepted: 26 September 2023 | Published: 16 October 2023
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Oral diseases affect over three billion people worldwide, making it one of the most common infections. Recent studies show that one approach to reducing the risk of chronic infections, such as caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, and halitosis, is to control the ecology of the oral microbiome instead of completely removing both the harmful and beneficial microorganisms. This is based on the knowledge that oral diseases are not caused by a single pathogen but rather by a shift in the homeostasis of the entire microbiota, a process known as dysbiosis. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance to implement strategies that are able to prevent and control oral dysbiosis to avoid serious complications, including heart, lung, and other systemic diseases. Conventional treatments include the use of antibiotics, which further disrupt the equilibrium in the oral microbiota, together with the mechanical removal of the decayed cavity area following its formation. Therefore, it is imperative to implement alternative strategies with the potential to overcome the disadvantages of the current therapy, namely, the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. In this sense, probiotics and postbiotics have received particular attention since they can modulate the oral microbiota and decrease the dysbiotic rate in the oral cavity. However, their mechanisms of action need to be addressed to clarify and drive their possible applications as preventive strategies. In this sense, this review provides an overview of the potential of probiotics and postbiotics, focusing on their antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities as well as their ability to modulate the inflammatory response. Finally, it also showcases the main advantages and disadvantages of orodispersible films—a promising delivery mechanism for both probiotics and postbiotics to target oral dysbiosis.

Keywords
oral dysbiosis
probiotics
postbiotics
oral health
Lactobacillus spp.
Streptococcus mutans
orodispersible films
Funding
UIDB/50016/2020/National Funds from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
TC-C12-i01/Be@t – Textile Bioeconomy Project
02/C12-i01/202/Be@t – Textile Bioeconomy Project
Figures
Fig. 1.
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