Association between Oral Probiotic Streptococcus Supplements and Salivary Streptococcus mutans Count in Human Study: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Probiotics in caries prevention is a subject of growing interest due to their specific activities and inhibitory effects on the cariogenic organisms. Though numerous reviews have evaluated the effect of probiotics in caries prevention, very few have focussed on the probiotic streptococcus strains, none of them have emphasised on the effect of probiotic Streptococcus strains on the salivary Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) count. Aim: To evaluate the current literature on the association between oral probiotic Streptococcus supplements on the S. mutans level. Materials and Methods: In the present systematic review a focused PICO question was formulated. Comprehensive literature searches were independently performed by two reviewers in various electronic databases. Randomised control trials in humans in which oral probiotic Streptococcus supplements were used to alter the salivary S. mutans count were included. Risk of bias and data extraction of the included articles was performed. Results: Five studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The quality of the included studies was quite low as only one among the five studies had moderate risk of bias while all others had a high risk of bias. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the available data, it can be concluded that probiotic Streptococcus supplements have a positive effect on reducing the S. mutans levels as long as they are being used.

Keywords

• dental caries prevention
• oral health
• probiotic supplements