Probiotic Streptococcus A12 Strain in Caries Prevention: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Dental Caries is a biofilm-mediated multi factorial disease affecting around 5 billion people worldwide. A consensus is now emerging that caries preventive measures should not only correct the environmental pressures responsible for the plaque biofilm dysbiosis, but also help to maintain a healthy resident microbiome which plays a crucial role in preventing caries and promoting oral health. This PROSPERO registered review (registration no 166695) aimed to examine the evidence on the role of probiotic Streptococcus A12 in caries prevention.Objectives: To know the effectiveness of A12 strain in caries prevention in early stages of disease onset. Intervention: Streptococcus A12 strains.Results: A preliminary search yielded a total of 2630 studies recorded through database searching and 23 additional records were identified through manual search. From 2653 articles, 2504 were excluded based on screening through review of titles. 8 articles were included for qualitative synthesis. Streptococcus A12 strains demonstrates antimicrobial efficacy by neutralization of the environment by arginine metabolism. Conclusion:Streptococcus A12 strains demonstrates antimicrobial efficacy by neutralization of the environment by arginine metabolism, which leads to the reduction in Streptococcus mutans count and helps in lowering the acidic nature of saliva is the potential strength of A12 strain. Due to a lack of controlled clinical studies on probiotics for caries prevention, evidence on their caries-preventive potential is weak. Future studies are needed to examine the probiotics as a potential agent against cariogenic pathogens.