Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov-Dec;23(6):619-623.
doi: 10.4103/JCD.JCD_467_20. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Comparative evaluation of different probiotic products on salivary Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus level in caries risk population

Pritam Sengupta  1 , Priti D Desai  1 , Ipsita Maity  1 , Paromita Mazumdar  1 , Shibendu Biswas  2 , Shromi Roy Choudhury  1 , Tushar Kanti Majumdar  1
Affiliations

Comparative evaluation of different probiotic products on salivary Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus level in caries risk population

Pritam Sengupta et al. J Conserv Dent. 2020 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is a multifactorial disease with the main causative organism being Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp. "Probiotics" are defined as living microorganisms, principally bacteria, which are safe for human consumption and when ingested in sufficient quantities, have beneficial effects on human health, beyond basic nutrition. These can be used to replace the pathogenic strains of bacteria with the nonpathogenic type in the oral cavity thus can help prevent dental caries.

Aims: To evaluate and compare the role of probiotic milk and lozenges on S. mutans and Lactobacillus spp. count on patients who are exposed to probiotics continuously for 7 days.

Materials and methods: Sixty volunteers who were prone to caries were divided into three equal groups. Experimental groups were given probiotics daily for 7 days. In Group A, patients were given milk without any probiotics (control); in Group B, probiotic milk is given; and in Group C, probiotic lozenges are given. Saliva samples were assessed on the 1st day and after 7 days of intervention. The collected saliva samples were inoculated on the selected culture media and estimation was done by measuring the colony-forming unit.

Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis was performed using Student's paired t-test and multiple comparisons by Tukey's honest significant difference test.

Results: There was a significant reduction in salivary S. mutans level in both experimental groups after 7 days (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in Lactobacillus count before and after the intervention.

Conclusions: Probiotics have a role in reducing salivary S. mutans count. Probiotics lozenges showed greater efficacy in reducing salivary S. mutans count than probiotic milk.

Keywords: Dental caries; Lactobacillus casei; Streptococcus mutans; probiotics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a): Measurement of pH of saliva, (b): Measurement of buffering capacity of saliva, (c) Growth of Streptococcus mutans in Tryptone yeast cysteine sucrose medium with bacitracin agar, (d) Growth of lactobacillus in Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe agar
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphical representation showing reduction of salivary Streptococcus mutans count after exposure to probiotics for seven days
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Raajendran R, Shivapathasundharam B, Raghu AR. Shafer, Hine, Levy . 6th ed. Noida, India: Elsevier; 2005. Shafer's Textbook of Oral Pathology.
    1. de Vrese M, Schrezenmeir J. Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2008;111:1–66. - PubMed
    1. Gueimonde M, Salminen S. New methods for selecting and evaluating probiotics. Dig Liver Dis. 2006;38:S242–7. - PubMed
    1. Lata S, Varghese NO, Varughese JM. Remineralization potential of fluoride and amorphous calcium phosphate-casein phospho peptide on enamel lesions: An in vitro comparative evaluation. J Conserv Dent. 2010;13:42–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marsh PD. 5th ed. Edinburgh, London, New York, Oxford, Philadelphia, St Louis, Sydney, Toronto:: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. Oral Microbiology.