Adjunctive efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of experimental peri-implant mucositis with mechanical and photodynamic therapy: a randomized, cross-over clinical trial

AimTo evaluate the adjunctive clinical efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of peri-implant mucositis (p-iM) with professionally administered plaque removal (PAPR) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Materials and methodsFollowing p-iM induction, patients underwent PAPR+PDT and were randomly assigned to receive the professional and home-based administration of probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis) (test treatment) or placebo preparation (control treatment) according to a cross-over design. Clinical parameters were assessed at six sites for each implant before as well as at 2 and 6weeks after professional treatment administration. ResultsTwenty patients contributing one dental implant each were included. Immediately before treatment and at 6weeks, the median number of sites with bleeding on probing (BoP+) sites per implant unit was 4 (3-6) and 2 (0-2) (p<0.001), respectively, for test treatment, and 3.5 (2-4) and 2 (0-3) (p=0.03), respectively, for control treatment. No significant difference in clinical outcomes was observed between treatment groups. ConclusionThe combination of PAPR and PDT either alone or associated with probiotics determined a significant reduction in the number of BoP+ sites at 2 and 6weeks around implants with p-iM. The adjunctive use of probiotics did not significantly enhance the clinical outcomes of PAPR+PDT.