Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM41744926
Effects of Oral Probiotics on Streptococcus mutans in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Caiza-Rennella Andrea, Ordoñez-Balladares Andrea, Caicedo-Quiroz Rosangela, et al. · Dentistry journal · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.3390/dj14020087
Findings
Population Children aged 6 months to 12 years
2 findings
| Oral Lactobacillus reuteri and/or L. rhamnosus probiotics for at least 30 days | Placebo or identical product without viable microorganisms | Proportion of children with high salivary S. mutans counts (>=10^5 CFU/mL) End of follow-up (56 days to 21 months) | OR 0.73 [0.51, 1.06] Moderate Downgraded: imprecision 4 studies · 1236 participants |
| Oral Lactobacillus reuteri and/or L. rhamnosus probiotics for at least 30 days | Placebo or identical product without viable microorganisms | Salivary Streptococcus mutans load (log10 CFU/mL) End of follow-up (30 days to 3 months) | MD -0.65 [-0.97, -0.34] Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias 2 studies · 126 participants |
Included primary studies 7
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almabadi 2020 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | 1 other review | Proportion of children with high salivary S. mutans counts (>=10^5 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
| Badri 2021 Effectiveness of probiotic lozenges and Chlorhexidine mouthwash on plaque index, salivary pH, and Streptococcus mutans count among school… PMID:34803312 | 2021 | this review only | Salivary Streptococcus mutans load (log10 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
| Janwong 2025 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Salivary Streptococcus mutans load (log10 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
| Janwong 2025 How to evaluate health promotion. PMID:112025 | 1979 | this review only | Salivary Streptococcus mutans load (log10 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
| Nase 2001 Effect of long-term consumption of a probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, in milk on dental caries and caries risk in children. PMID:11799281 | 2001 | this review only | Proportion of children with high salivary S. mutans counts (>=10^5 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
| Pohjavuori 2010 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Proportion of children with high salivary S. mutans counts (>=10^5 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
| Stecksen-Blicks 2009 Effect of long-term consumption of milk supplemented with probiotic lactobacilli and fluoride on dental caries and general health in… PMID:19690413 | 2009 | this review only | Proportion of children with high salivary S. mutans counts (>=10^5 CFU/mL) | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Efficacy of Probiotic Consumption on Oral Outcomes in Children and/or Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis. (2024) | 1 | 0.04 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Children aged 6 months to 12 years, healthy or at risk for caries | Children aged 1 to 12 years (N=1362) |
| Intervention | Oral L. reuteri and/or L. rhamnosus (any formulation) for at least 30 days | L. rhamnosus SD11, GG or LB21 and L. reuteri DSM17938/ATCC PTA5289 in milk, juice, milk powder or lozenges (n=699) |
| Comparison | Placebo or identical product without viable microorganisms | Identical product without viable microorganisms (n=663) |
| Outcomes | S. mutans levels in saliva or plaque (CFU/mL, log10 CFU/mL, or proportion with high counts >=10^5 CFU/mL) | Salivary S. mutans log10 CFU/mL (2 RCTs, n=126); proportion with high S. mutans counts (4 RCTs, n=1236); plaque S. mutans in one study only |
| Study designs | Randomized controlled trials (parallel or cluster) | 6 RCTs (including one cluster RCT) |
| Timing | Intervention duration at least 30 days | Intervention duration 30 days to 21 months |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | No | No | yes |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | No | No | yes |
| 8Included studies described in detail | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | RCT: Yes · NRSI: N/A | NRSI: N/A · RCT: Yes | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | No | No | yes |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | RCT: Yes · NRSI: N/A | NRSI: N/A · RCT: No | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | No | No | yes |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | No | No | yes |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Overall | Critically Low | Critically Low | yes |