Probiotic bacteria found in fermented foods can help dispel bad breath

Bacterial probiotics commonly found in fermented foods, such as yogurt, sourdough bread and miso soup, can help dispel the shame of persistent bad breath (halitosis), find a Synthetic data analysis of available evidence, published in an open access journal Open BMJ.

Lactobacillus salicylic, Lactobacillus reuteri, Streptococcus drops, Weissella cibaria, used as supplements in this study, may help freshen breath, but more quality research is needed, the researchers say.

Volatile sulfuric compounds are the main cause of persistent bad breath. These compounds are produced by bacteria in the mouth due to the mixing of bacteria and food debris associated with poor oral and gum hygiene.

Options used to address the problem include mouthwash, gum, scaling, and tongue scraping. Emerging evidence suggests that biological bacteria may provide a simpler alternative.

To further explore this and find out how long any such effects might last, the researchers searched research databases for relevant randomized clinical trials that were published. father until February 2021.

Of the 238 initial records, duplicate and incomplete data reduced the number of clinical trials eligible for pooled data analysis to 7, involving a total of 278 people.

The number of participants in each study was very small, ranging from 23 to 68, with ages ranging from 19 to 70. Follow-up lasted from 2 to 12 weeks.

The severity of halitosis is determined by the levels of volatile sulfur compounds detected in the mouth or the OLP score, which measures breath odor at different distances from the mouth.

Tongue coverage score (3 studies) and plaque index (3 studies) were also included in the analysis because a dirty tongue and tartar buildup between teeth are often considered to be the main causes of bad breath.

Meta-analysis of the data showed that OLP scores were significantly reduced in those given probiotics compared with those in the comparison study group, regardless of the length of the follow-up period.

A similar result was observed for the levels of volatile sulfur compounds detected, although these levels varied considerably across individual studies and the effects observed. is relatively short—up to 4 weeks, after which there is no noticeable difference.

But there was no significant difference in tongue coating score or plaque index between those given the probiotic supplement and those who did not.

The researchers explain that probiotics can inhibit the breakdown of amino acids and proteins by anaerobic bacteria in the mouth, thereby limiting the production of odorous byproducts.

But they seem cautious in interpreting their findings. The sample sizes of the included studies were small and some of the data were incomplete. These factors, in addition to differences in detection methods, bacterial species, plus large differences in the design and methods of clinical trials, all undermined the findings.

“This systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus salsalius, Lactobacillus reuteri, Streptococcus salaryius and Weissella cibaria) can reduce halitosis by reducing bad breath. [volatile sulfuric compound] short-term concentration, but had no significant effect on the main causes of halitosis, such as plaque and coating on the tongue,” they wrote.

In the future, more high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed to verify the results and provide evidence of the effectiveness of probiotics in the management of halitosis, they added.