Effects of probiotic therapy on experimental periodontitis in a rat osteoporosis model: a microtomographic study

Abstract

Adjuvant therapies may be necessary for effective periodontal treatment of patients with osteoporosis. From a theoretical point of view, increasing the number of beneficial bacteria by probiotics may be considerable interesting in the treatment of periodontal diseases and osteoporosis. There is no established protocol for the treatment of both conditions when associated. The aim of this study will be to evaluate the effect of the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium animalis subs. lactis (B. lactis) HN019 on ligature-induced periodontitis in ovariectomized rats. 32 rats will be divided into four groups: C-OVX (control, without probiotic), C-OVX-HN019 (control, with probiotic), DP-OVX (periodontal disease, without probiotic) and DP-OVX-HN019 (periodontal disease, with probiotic). At day 0 of the experiment, all animals will be submitted to ovariectomy. After 8 weeks, animals of the groups HN019 will receive systemic administration of the probiotic strain B. lactis HN019 (1.5 x 108 Colony Forming Units / mL) for 8 weeks. 14 weeks after the start of the experiment, animals of the groups DP-OVX and DP-OVX-HN019 will receive cotton ligatures around mandibular first molars. These animals will also receive topical administrations of probiotic therapy immediately of ligature placement, as well as 3 and 7 days after the placement of ligatures. All animals will be euthanized 16 weeks after the start of the experiment. The jaws will be dissected and the alveolar bone loss will be calculated by microtomographic analysis. The data obtained will be submitted to statistical analysis (p < 0.05).