Abstract
The oral microbiome plays an important role in maintaining peri-implant health, and microbial imbalance is a key factor in the development of peri-implant mucositis (PIM). Probiotics have been proposed as a strategy to modulate the oral microbiome, but clinical evidence in peri-implant conditions remains limited. In this randomized exploratory trial, patients with PIM received the probiotic Weissella cibaria CMU (OraCMU) or placebo for four weeks following standard supragingival scaling and oral hygiene instruction. Subgingival microbiome profiles and clinical parameters were evaluated at baseline and follow-up. While overall microbial diversity showed no marked differences between groups, OraCMU administration was associated with favorable compositional changes within the subgingival microbiome. This included enrichment of bacterial taxa commonly associated with peri-implant health and suppression of taxa linked to inflammatory peri-implant conditions. Consistent trends toward reduced abundance of key periopathogenic species were observed in the probiotic group compared with placebo. A modest improvement in probing depth was also noted in patients with moderate PIM receiving OraCMU. Together, these findings indicate that short-term probiotic supplementation may support ecological stabilization of the peri-implant microbiome. Further longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether such microbiome modulation translates into sustained clinical benefit.
Data availability
The sequence data described in this study have been deposited in the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) and are available under BioProject accession number PRJNA1263118 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Division of Statistics in Medical Research Collaborating Center at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital for their invaluable expertise and guidance, actively contributing to the data analysis and consultation.
Funding
This research was supported by the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Research Fund (Grant No. 02-2022-0019) and by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Korean government (Grant No. NRF-2023R1A2C2002783).
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Mi-Sun Kang, Hyo-Jung Lee, and Kyoung Un Park contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study. Hyunji Kim, Sujin Oh, and Jin-Sil Hong were responsible for data curation. Formal analysis was performed by Hyunji Kim and Sujin Oh. Investigation was conducted by Jin-Sil Hong. Resources were provided by Jin-Sil Hong and Hyo-Jung Lee. Hyo-Jung Lee supervised the study. Validation was carried out by Sujin Oh. Hyunji Kim contributed to data visualization and drafted the original manuscript. Hyo-Jung Lee and Kyoung Un Park reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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One author, Mi-Sun Kang, is employed by the R&D Center of Oraticx, Inc., the manufacturer of the probiotic product used in this study. All other authors declare no competing interests.
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The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (IRB No. B-2208-773-004).statement.
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Kim, H., Oh, S., Hong, JS. et al. Exploratory randomized trial of Weissella cibaria CMU and oral microbiome changes in peri implant mucositis. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42961-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42961-7
