Efficacy of probiotics against dental caries in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Dental caries causes serious consequences and the financial burden of society especially in children with high morbidity rate. Here we carried out a meta-analysis to systematically evaluate the efficacy of probiotics against dental caries in children. Forty-three RCTs were eligible for this meta-analysis after searching the PubMed, Cochrane and Web of Science from the inception through October 2021. Pooled estimates demonstrated that treatment with probiotics significantly reduced noncavitated (dicdas2–6mft) (SMD = −0.18, 95% CI: −0.3 to −0.06, p = 0.002) and cavitated (dicdas5–6mft) carious lesions in children (SMD = −0.32, 95% CI: −0.5 to 0.14, p = 0.0004). Probiotics also reduced prevalence of noncavitated (dicdas2–6mft) carious lesions (RR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.67 to–0.97, p = 0.02). Salivary Streptococcus mutans was declined after intervention (SMD = −1.17, 95% CI: −1.85 to −0.5, p = 0.0007), while Lactobacillus counts were upregulated (SMD = 1.19, 95% CI: 0.46–1.92, p = 0.001). However, no significant effects in total bacteria counts and salivary pH were observed. Our findings suggest that probiotics especially Lactobacillus could be a promising therapeutic strategy for clinical applications in children dental caries.