Who says Halloween says sweets … (Lots of sweets!) They’re very appreciated by all of us, but they’re very sweety and can cause dental caries. Dental caries is an infectious disease of bacterial origin characterized by acid demineralization of the tooth enamel. It’s due to an imbalance of the oral microbiota leading to a proliferation of the bacterial biofilm, mainly composed of Streptococcus mutans.
According to the WHO, 60 to 90% of schoolchildren in the world and almost 100% of adults have or have had caries.
The causes of dental caries are numerous, they may be due to oral hygiene, a lack of fluoride, but sugars are the main cause.
Probiotics, these beneficial bacteria to our organism, do not only act on our intestines ! Its can also favorably influence the buccal microbial balance, thus reducing the caries risk.
To be effective, probiotics must meet certain criteria :
– adhere to the teeth ;
– integrate with the bacterial communities forming the biofilm ;
– compete with the bacteria responsible for caries ;
– limit the acids production during the metabolism of sugars.
The scientific literature shows that some probiotics have a selective bactericidal activity against cariogenic bacteria. Indeed, their regular intake seems to decrease the salivary concentrations of S. mutans.
Moreover, the daily consumption of probiotics leads to a significant reduction in caries, with more effect on the early lesions than on the cavity lesions.
These promising results suggest that probiotics have a protective effect on our teeth !
LC
