Evaluation of Lactobacillus reuteri probiotic Lozenge intake on Salivary Cariogenic Bacterial Counts in Preschool Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: The current study was conducted to assess whether intake of probiotic L. reuteri lozenges on a daily basis is beneficial to combat caries-associated salivary bacteria, namely Mutans streptococci and lactobacilli, hence minimizing dental plaque accumulation while keeping the buffer capacity of saliva to optimum levels in a group of otherwise healthy preschool children. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised of 178 healthy children (aged 3 - 6 years). The L. reuteri probiotic lozenges were given to experimental group (n=90) while the control group (n=88) received placebo lozenges, two times per day for a total duration of 56 days. Chair-side caries risk test sets were used to count salivary amounts of mutans streptococci, lactobacilli and also assess the buffering capacity. Simplified Oral Hygiene index (OHI-S) was employed to qualify dental plaque accumulation once at the startas a baseline and finally after 56 days. Results: The results showed a statistically significant reduction of S. mutans and lactobacilli in the experimental group versus baseline counts and the control group after 56 days (p=0.000 and p=0.035) respectively. Both the experimental and the control groups also showcased fewer plaque accumulations when compared with their baseline scores. While buffer capacity in experimental group was observed to be more than in the control group, the results reflected no statistically significant difference between the two study groups (p=0.576). The compliance was reported to be 80% and no adverse events were observed during the entire duration of the study. Conclusion and Recommendations: The regular intake of probiotic lozenge containing L. reuteri significantly lowered caries-associated bacterial counts and hence, probiotics consumption could aid in the reduction or even the prevention of dental caries.