Journal of Advanced Clinical & Research Insights (2015), 2, 1–4 Journal of Advanced Clinical & Research Insights ● Vol. 2:3 ● May-Jun 2015 1 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Evaluation of salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans pre- and post-probiotics use Priya Nimish Deo, Revati Deshmukh Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Bharati Vidyapeeth Dental College & Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra, India Abstract Background: Probiotics are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host.” They are thought to play a role in the maintenance of oral health. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the effect of probiotics on the salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans. Materials and Methods: Fifty subjects within the age group of 18-30 years were selected for study. 2 ml of unstimulated saliva was collected before and after 7 days of administration of probiotic (65 ml once daily) to the participant. Mitis salivarius bacitracin agar was used as culture media. Yakult probiotic, fermented milk containing over 6.5 billion Lactobacilli casei strain was used. The colony forming unit of S. mutans was calculated by surface count method, and the total colony count was calculated by consideration of the dilution factor. The mean salivary levels of S. mutans pre- and post- probiotics use were calculated. Paired sample t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: The study revealed a statistically significant reduction in the salivary levels of S. mutans after the use of probiotics. Conclusion: This bacterio-therapy, which is a novel concept, is a non-invasive method for combating infection and dental caries. More research is needed to evaluate the effect of Probiotics on oral health. Keywords: Dental caries, probiotics, Streptococcus mutans Correspondence Dr. Priya Nimish Deo, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bharati Vidyapeeth Dental College & Hospital, Bharati Vidyapeeth Educational Complex, Pune-Satara Road, Katraj-Dhankawadi, Pune - 411 043, Maharashtra, India. Email: priyanimishdeo@ gmail.com Received 18 January 2015; Accepted 27 February 2015 doi: 10.15713/ins.jcri.57 Introduction Probiotics are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer health benefits to the host. The term probiotic was derived from the Greek word meaning “for life.” This term was first used in 1965, by Lilly and Stillwell for describing substances secreted by one organism which helps the growth of another. [1] The concept of probiotic came from Elie Metchnikoff’s ideas that bacteria in fermented products help combat the microbes that are injurious to the host and are hence, beneficial to health. The idea behind Probiotics is the replacement of pathogenic species with non-pathogenic species such as strains of lactobacilli or bifidobacteria, are commonly used micro-organisms as probiotics. A number of probiotic induced benefits on the general health have been proposed, such as reduced susceptibility to infections, reduction of allergies, and lactose intolerance, as well as lowered blood pressure and serum cholesterol values. [2] In addition to benefits on the digestive tract, effects of various strains of lactobacilli in the oral cavity have been reported such as dental caries prevention and maintenance of periodontal health. [3] Various products containing different bacterial strains are available in the market such as sucking tablets, chewing gums, dairy products like ice-cream, milk, cheese and yoghurts, etc. [4] Unlike most bacteria in normal yoghurt, probiotic bacteria are able to sustain the acidic environment in the stomach and on reaching the intestine alive, change the environment and favor growth of useful bacteria and suppress growth of harmful bacteria. The beneficial bacteria in yakult help improve gut function and build immunity when consumed on a daily basis. [5] In our study, we used the probiotic called yakult which is fermented milk and contains over 6.5 billion probiotic bacteria – Lactobacilli casei strain shirota. The effect of this Probiotic in the oral cavity is still less explored. Aim and objectives To study the effect of probiotics on the salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans. To evaluate salivary levels of S. mutans before use of probiotics.