This review of the efficacy of mouthwashes on oral microorganisms and gingivitis in orthodontic patients included 32 RCTs. While the findings suggest short-term benefits with adjunctive mouthwash use the findings should be intertpreted cautiously as only one RCT was at low risk of bias and for almost all outccomes the certainty of evidence was rated as very low to low.
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This review of the impact of sugar-free gum (SFG) on the level of oral micro-organisms, specifically Streptococcus mutans included 13 studies 11 of whihc were RCTs. The findings indicated that SFG reduces the load of Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity compared to controls but noe of teh included studies were at low risk of bias.
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This review of the effect of probiotic containing dairy products on oral health included 32 studies involving a broad range of dairy products suggesting a positive effect on S.Mutans (SM) levels and salivary pH.
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This review of probiotics use for caries and periodontal disease management identified 50 studies. Most focused on surrogate outcomes (bacterial counts) and the overall quality of the evidence supporting probiotic therapy was graded as very low for all outcomes.
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This small trial of probiotics as an adjunct to toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste to reduce caries in pre-school children suggests some additional benefit. Further studies are needed to clarify the findings, assess dose response, acceptability and cost effectiveness.
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Only 18 studies were identified for this review of caries risk assessment models. Previous caries experience and salivary mutans streptococci levels were the only two methods with more than 3 studies and the quality of evidence for these two approaches was low.
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11 studies were included in this review of chlorhexidine varnish to reduce mutans streptococcus in patients having a fixed orthodontic treatment. A majority of the studies demonstrated a positive effect but the quality of the evidence was weak.
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This new Cochrane review included 8 trials, involving a total of 2,876 children finding little evidence to support or refute the use of chlorhexidine varnish or gel in reducing caries or mutans streptoccoci levels.
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This review identified 5 trials reported in 11 publications and found that the chewing of xylitol gum by mothers significantly reduced transmission of mutans streptococci to their children. However the effects on caries were inconsistent.
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Thirty six studies were identified for this review of maternal-child transmission rates for mutans streptococci. Rates varied from 52.5% – 84.5% with a meta-analysis finding a cumulative event rate of 0.650 (95% CI; 0.565 to 0.726).
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