By Danielle 
University of Toronto researchers are testing whether probiotics infused into common foods such as milk or yogurt could help prevent childhood cavities — one of the world’s most widespread chronic diseases.
Led by dentistry professor Céline Lévesque, the team is using synbiotics — a combination of probiotics and prebiotics — to determine if beneficial bacteria can protect children’s teeth. A key challenge, Lévesque notes, is that “friendly” bacteria do not remain in the mouth long enough to have a lasting effect.
Working with colleague Professor Siew-Ging Gong, Lévesque has identified Streptococcus salivarius — a naturally occurring oral bacterium also present in breast milk — as a promising candidate for a synbiotic formula.
“We propose to develop a mixture of live probiotic bacteria and food ingredients to modulate the microbiome for oral health,” said Lévesque, who is collaborating with Professor Cynthia Yiu at the University of Hong Kong and Associate Professor Prasanna Neelakantan at the University of Alberta.
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Funding and testing
With funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the project will test which food-based materials best support the growth of probiotics, while preclinical studies explore how they behave in the body and the kinds of health benefits they may offer.
The researchers envision a low-cost, preventive strategy delivered through foods children already consume, such as milk or yogurt. To help translate the science into practice, they are partnering with groups like Yoba for Life, which empowers communities in resource-poor regions to produce probiotic yogurt.
Cavities are widespread among Canadian children, affecting more than half of those aged six to 11 and nearly 60 per cent of youth aged 12 to 19, according to the 2017 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Globally, cavities affect up to 90 per cent of school-aged children, the World Health Organization reports. More than 500 million children have untreated tooth decay, which can cause pain, interfere with learning and speech, and harm overall well-being.
“Children are particularly vulnerable — especially those in minority and economically disadvantaged communities,” Lévesque said. “WHO has called for a shift from treating oral diseases to preventing them, and our research responds directly to that call.”