Title
Effect of probiotic formulations on Streptococcus mutans count: An in vitro study for pediatric caries prevention
Authors
Faheem Muzaffar Mir1,*, Majd Talha Qari1, Maram Abdulaziz Alagla2, Rana Jamal Alzaqzouq1, Galiah Husam alJefri1, Ali M Alsagri3 & Yazeed Abdulhadi Alarjani3
Affiliation
1Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; * Corresponding author
Faheem Muzaffar Mir - E-mail: faheem@dau.edu.sa
Majd Talha Qari - E-mail: mqari@dau.edu.sa
Maram Abdulaziz Alagla - E-mail: m.alagla@psau.edu.sa
Rana Jamal Alzaqzouq - E-mail: ranaa@dau.edu.sa
Galiah Husam alJefri - E-mail: galiah.h.aljefri@gmail.com
Ali M Alsagri - E-mail: alisagri.a@gmail.com
Yazeed Abdulhadi Alarjani - E-mail: yaalarjani@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received July 1, 2026; Revised July 31, 2026; Accepted July 31, 2026, Published July 31, 2026
Abstract
Dental caries is a prevalent biofilm-mediated disease, with Streptococcus mutans serving as a primary etiological microorganism responsible for its initiation and progression. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of four probiotic formulations against S. mutans using 100 samples equally distributed into five groups, with antimicrobial activity assessed by zone of inhibition and colony-forming unit analyses. The probiotic mouth rinse showed the highest antimicrobial activity, followed by the powder and lozenge formulations, whereas the yogurt formulation showed the least efficacy among probiotic groups; intergroup differences were highly significant (ANOVA, p < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis confirmed the superior performance of the mouth rinse formulation compared with the other probiotic formulations. Thus, data shows that probiotic formulations, particularly mouth rinses, may serve as effective adjuncts for reducing S. mutans.
Keywords
Probiotics, Streptococcus mutans, dental caries, antimicrobial activity, in vitro study
Citation
Mir et al. Bioinformation 22(7): 4248-4252 (2026)
Edited by
Ritik Kashwani
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
