Fighting Tooth Decay with Probiotics

According to recent research by Indian scientists, a daily dose of "good" bacteria might help kids fight tooth decay.

The study involved 150 children, between the ages of seven and fourteen.  All of the children were randomly assigned to one of three groups.  Each participant of the study received a powder that had to be taken once a day for two weeks.

The powder given to one of the groups (the control group) did not contain any active ingredients.  The second group's powder contained two species of pro-biotics, (Lactobacillus rhamnosus, a commercially available probiotic, and Bifidobacterium, a probiotic used in the food industry) that can potentially promote good health.  The third group was given a Bacillus coagulans containing powder, which is also used as a pro-biotic.

Before, and after the study, all of the participants were tested for their levels of bacteria that cause tooth decay (S. mutans.)  The study showed that both of the groups getting pro-biotic powders had incredible reductions in the numbers of Streptococcus mutans, especially in comparison to the control group.