**7.2 Bacteriophages in oral diseases**

Bacteriophages are being isolated to bacteria causing oral infections. Bacteriophages have been isolated to both aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms associated with periodontitis. Bacteriophages also constitute the majority of periodontal viral communities [42]. This variation in bacteriophages in healthy and periodontitis patients suggests a potential for more bacteriophage exploration. The use of bacteriophages has also been done in root canal treatment but targeted mainly against *E. faecalis*. Bacteriophages have also been explored for their therapeutic role in peri-implantitis [43] and also in the healing of oral mucosal infections [44].

### **7.3 Bacteriophages as antibiotic adjuvants**

Phages can be used as adjuvants to antibiotic therapy. Resistance developed in phages can be reduced by using a cocktail of phages or phage recombinant lysins. Now, genetically engineered phages have also been developed to tackle resistance strains [45, 46].

The use of strictly lytic phages that infect only the target bacteria without affecting the normal microflora can be used as an alternative to local or systemic antibiotic therapy. This phage-based treatment can be designed in each case favoring personalized medicine.
