Probiotics in Prevention of Dental Caries - A Literature Review

Abstract

Dental caries is a microbial disease induced by oral biofilm containing Streptococcus mutans, leading to destruction of tooth structure. With better understanding of the Ecology and microbiology of the oral cavity and with the advent of Minimal Invasive Dentistry, there has been a shift in the treatment modalities of caries. Recently probiotics have been used extensively to promote a healthy oral flora. This review article aims to promote a better understanding of the probiotic strains, their mechanism of action and the various modes of delivery available. An electronic search was also performed using databases such as Google scholar, PubMed, Science direct and Scopus. Comparisons of different searches were carried out to delete the repeated studies. The articles published in any language other than English were excluded. Several studies proved that Probiotics can influence the caries balance locally through a direct contact with oral tissues and systemically through the gastrointestinal tract. Most of the probiotic strains currently available have been proved safe and promote both general and oral health. There are limited clinical trials with widely different study designs and target population. Also there is lack of evidence, regarding sustainability of the effect of Probiotics.

How probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics prevent dental caries: an oral microbiota perspective

“…In addition, milk contains calcium and calcium lactate, which may have a preventive effect against caries 124 , and can reduce the colonization of pathogenic microorganisms 125 . Furthermore, milk and cheese promote the dominance of casein phosphopeptides which are known to play a key role in biomineralization 126 . A systematic review and meta-analysis showed that dairy products containing probiotics had a significant impact in reducing S. mutans and raising salivary pH 122 .…”

Probiotics - A New Era in Eradication of Dental Caries

“…the microbial change as a mechanism of preventing dental disease is an important era in dentistry. To reduce the wide spreading of cariogenic microflora, various efforts have been undertaken but complete eradication of caries-associated microorganisms has been futile 4 . Probiotics are at present the subject of eager and extensive research, especially in the field of caries prevention.…”