Treating periodontal disease: from antimicrobials to immunomodulation.

Dysregulated host immune responses are characteristic of a variety of inflammatory-mediated diseases. As such, novel immune-modulating therapies have been developed for the treatment of these inflammatory conditions. One condition that has seen a paradigm shift in therapeutic strategies is periodontal disease (PD), a common oral inflammatory condition. While initiated by bacteria, a dysregulated host immune response drives the disease. In this review, we discuss key innate and adaptive immune cells that have a role in PD progression, as well as different ways to target them. We highlight therapies that target dysregulated inflammatory pathways and their success in clinical trials. Lastly, we discuss the next steps for the clinical translation and subsequent adoption of these novel immunomodulatory treatments.