Dental health is closely linked to systemic health, with gingivitis being linked to systemic inflammation, and periodontal disease linked to the likes of cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, reproductive, endocrine disease, and cancer.
Although not an alternative to brushing, probiotic lozenges can go a long way in helping to improve your dental health. The idea with probiotics, is rather than just kill some bad bacteria (you’ll never kill them all) and wait for more bad bacteria to grow to fill the void; you replace the bad bacteria with good bacteria instead.
This is exactly what people do with probiotics in their gut flora. Instead, you’re doing the same in your mouth.
Probiotic lozenges are backed by science. In a 2010 study published in the Journal of Oral Microbiology, the probiotic, Lactobacillus reuteri, was found to result in significant plaque inhibition, and have both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.
Unfortunately, most oral/dental probiotics on the market either have strains of probiotic bacteria that don't have much evidence of dental benefit, and/or contain harmful artificial additives, even ones that are known to cause microbial dysbiosis like maltodextrin. Other frightfully common artificial additives used in dental probiotics include the likes of microcrystalline cellulose, magnesium stearate, and the artificial sweetener, sucralose.
Probiotic strains I am particularly interested in seeing include lactobacillus reuteri strains 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289, and streptococcus salivarius M18 and K12.
I went through some of the options available on the market, and have listed the ones that contain the most proven probiotic bacteria for improving dental health, while not containing any/many harmful artificial additives.
Great Oral Health Advanced Oral Probiotics
I like this one because it contains 2 of the most proven probiotic bacteria for dental health:- lactobacillus reuteri and streptococcus salivarius (both proven strains, M18 and K12).
The other thing I like about it is that it doesn't contain any artificial additives like flow agents or artificial sweeteners.
You can get this one here (U.S.A., U.K.)
This is the only good option I could find on Amazon in the U.K.
Unfortunately they don't list the particular strain of L. reuteri in their supplement, I emailed them and they replied the next day, here's what they said:
“If it helps, this is the strain we use Lactobacillus reuteri (SD-5865). That number is its strain identifier.”
They then sent me a second email:
“I did want to mention that one of the reasons that strains are not listed, generally, is that there can be minor variations in the strains used due to availability and so forth. This is true of all probiotic manufacturers. These are not done to change the integrity of the product.
In the case of patented strains, such as BLIS K12 and M18, these remain consistent.
We do not have any changes to our strains, but I just wanted to mention this possibility to you as you had interest in exploring the strains. It is a factor with any probiotic product.”
It's nice that they gave me a quick and detailed response. I found some evidence that L. reuteri strain SD-5865 can help with gut health and insulin sensitivity, but in my quick search, I didn't see anything related to dental health. Ideally, for a dental probiotic, I would like to see a L. reuteri strain that has some evidence behind it for dental health, but this supplement does have those other two proven strains, so it's still a great option.
NOW Supplements, OralBiotic™
NOW is a reliable brand that tend to have fewer artificial additives than most other well-known brands, but not always.
Their oral probiotic supplement contains only streptococcus salivarius strain K12, which studies have shown helps improve dental health.
The only artificial additive I don't like in this supplement, is microcrystalline cellulose. I like that they use xylitol as a sweetener, because xylitol has been shown in studies to improve dental health.
You can get NOW's OralBiotic supplement here (U.S.A., Canada)
Herobiotics Oral + ENT Probiotic
This one contains proven probiotic bacteria, lactobacillus reuteri, and streptococcus salivarius (strain K12). They don't list the particular strain of L. reuteri in their supplement, I have emailed them about this and awaiting a reply (Update 2022-07-15, it's been 3 days, and still no reply).
I like that this supplement contains no artificial additives.
You can get the Herobiotics Oral + ENT probiotic here (U.S.A. only).