Probiotics and their effect on oral bacteria count in children: a pilot study

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

To assess the effect of the daily ingestion of a mixture of probiotics on the amount of Streptococcus mutans in the oral
cavity of preschool-age patients with a high risk of caries.

Methods

Forty patients, aged between 4 and 6 years,
with a high risk of dental caries were included in this pilot study. Patients were randomly assigned to two study groups: the Experimental
Group (A) included patients who brushed their teeth and used fluoridated toothpaste in addition to consuming probiotics daily, and the
Control Group (B) inclused patients who brushed their teeth and used fluoridated toothpaste but did not consume probiotics. Using the
CariScreen, the microorganism count was determined at different times: baseline, 7, 14, 21 and 30 days. To identify the differences
between both groups, a Mann-Whitney U test was performed, with a significance level of 0.05.

Results

It was observed that both
groups showed similar microbial counts at the beginning of the trial (p>0.05), and a significant decrease in the count at the end of the
study was found in the experimental group (p<0.05) 15 days after suspending ingestion.

Conclusion

We found a significant
reduction of RLU values in preschool children who ingested the tested probiotics in relation to the baseline values and 15 days after
ceasing consumption.

PLUMX METRICS