Sucking on a probiotic lozenges twice a day for four weeks led to significant reductions in plaque and saliva levels of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Fusobacterium nucleatum – two bacterial strains linked to periodontitis.
Scientists from Kuwait University, The Arctic University of Norway, and the University of Turku (Finland) also report that plaque levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis were also reduced, compared to placebo.
“The short-term daily consumption of LGG and BB-12 probiotic lozenges improved the gingival health in adolescents and decreased the microbial counts of A. actinomycetemcomitans, and P. gingivalis,” they wrote in Beneficial Microbes. “Hence probiotic supplements may serve as a simple adjunct to standard oral care for promoting the oral health in adolescents.”
Study details
The researchers recruited 108 boys aged between 13 and 15 to participate in their placebo-controlled clinical trial. The boys were randomly assigned to suck on either two LGG + BB-12 lozenges per day or two placebo lozenges per day for four weeks.
Results showed that, for the 101 boys who completed the study, the probiotic lozenges were associated with statistically significant reductions in Gingival Index (GI), compared to placebo.
“Probiotic lozenges significantly reduced levels of A. actinomycetemcomitans and F. nucleatum in saliva and plaque (P<0.05) and levels of P. gingivalis in plaque (P<0.05), while no significant changes were found in the control group. A significant reduction (P<0.001) was also noted in the total salivary bacterial counts of the test group.”
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Source: Beneficial Microbes
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.3920/BM2017.0139
“Effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium lactis on gingival health, dental plaque, and periodontopathogens in adolescents: a randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial”
Authors: A. Alanzi et al.