title: Probiotics and their effect on oral bacteria count in children: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors: Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Cortés-Dorantes
authors: Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
authors: M S
authors: MS
authors: Ruiz-Rodríguez
authors: Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Tecnologica de Mexico, Mexico.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Karakowsky-Kleiman
authors: Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Garrocho-Rangel
authors: Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
authors: L O
authors: LO
authors: Sánchez-Vargas
authors: Pediatric Dentistry Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
authors: A J
authors: AJ
authors: Pozos-Guillén
mesh_terms: D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000187:drug effects; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003733:Dental Caries Susceptibility / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008963:Molar / Q000382:microbiology; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010919:Placebos; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000145:classification; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects*; D019533:Streptococcus oralis / Q000502:physiology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000379:methods; D014100:Toothpastes / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D010919:Placebos; D014100:Toothpastes; D005459:Fluorides