Table 1.
Overview of common probiotic candidate species and strains included in oral care probiotics in the United States.
| Probiotic strain | Origin of isolation | Native location in human body | Documented probiotic benefit in the oral cavity | Mechanism of action in the oral cavity | Company | Regulatory status | Most common use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streptococcus oralis KJ3 | Subgingival plaque of a 32 year-old subject with a clinically healthy periodontium (Hillman et al., 1985) | Teeth, Gingiva | Inhibition of oral pathogens that cause gingivitis and periodontitis, cosmetic whitening (Zahradnik et al., 2009; Hillman et al., 2016) | Hydrogen peroxide production, antimicrobial (Hillman et al., 1985) | ProBiora Health, LLC | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Oral care probiotic |
| Streptococcus uberis KJ2 | Subgingival plaque of a 32 year-old subject with a clinically healthy periodontium (Hillman et al., 1985) | Teeth, Gingiva | Inhibition of oral pathogens involved in gingivitis and periodontitis, cosmetic whitening (Zahradnik et al., 2009; Hillman et al., 2016) | Hydrogen peroxide production, antimicrobial (Hillman et al., 1985) | ProBiora Health, LLC | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Oral care probiotic |
| Streptococcus rattus JH145 | spontaneous lactate dehydrogenase deficient (LDH-) mutant of Streptococcus mutans strain BHT-2 (Hillman et al., 2009) | Teeth | Inhibition and competitive exclusion of oral pathogens that cause caries (Hillman et al., 1987, 2009; Cannon et al., 2013; Hedayati-Hajikand et al., 2015) | LDH- Deficient, Competitive Exclusion (Hillman et al., 2009) | ProBiora Health, LLC | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Oral care probiotic |
| Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12 | Saliva of a child (Burton et al., 2006) | Dorsum of the tongue and the pharyngeal mucosa | Inhibition of oral pathogens that cause halitosis (Yoo et al., 2020) | Bacteriocin production (lantibiotics salivaricin A and salivaricin B; Hyink Otto et al., 2007) | BLIS, Burst Oral Probiotics, Nature’s Plus, Probium, Naturewise, Probi USA, Mars Wellness, Hyperbiotics, Therabreath | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Oral care probiotic |
| Streptococcus salivarius BLIS M18 | Oral cavity of a healthy adult (Burton et al., 2013) | Dorsum of the tongue and the pharyngeal mucosa | Inhibition of oral pathogens that cause gingivitis, periodontitis, and caries (Burton et al., 2013; Di Pierro et al., 2015; Jansen et al., 2021) | Bacteriocin production (lantibiotics salivaricin A2, salivaricin 9, salivaricin M; Wescombe et al., 2011) | BLIS, Burst Oral Probiotics, Nature’s Plus, Probium, Naturewise, Probi USA, Mars Wellness, Hyperbiotics, Therabreath | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Oral care probiotic |
| Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 | daughter strain of L. reuteri ATCC 55730 (originally isolated from human breast milk) with antibiotic resistance plasmids removed (Urbańska and Szajewska, 2014) | Intestine, skin, breast milk; transient member of oral cavity | Conflicting evidence for inhibition of oral pathogens (Vivekananda et al., 2010; Kraft-Bodi et al., 2015; Widyarman et al., 2018; EFSA Panel on Nutrition et al., 2020; Laleman et al., 2020; Schlagenhauf et al., 2020), documented benefits for improved gut health by protecting the mucosal lining (Jiang et al., 2023) | Competitive bacterial interactions (Kraft-Bodi et al., 2015), production of biosurfactants which inhibit pathogen growth (Ciandrini et al., 2016) | BioGaia, SUNSTAR Suisse S.A. | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Gut probiotic |
| Limosilactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 5289 | Oral cavity of a healthy adult woman (Liu et al., 2010) | Intestine, skin, breast milk; transient member of oral cavity | Conflicting evidence for inhibition of oral pathogens (Vivekananda et al., 2010; Kraft-Bodi et al., 2015; Widyarman et al., 2018; EFSA Panel on Nutrition et al., 2020; Laleman et al., 2020; Schlagenhauf et al., 2020), reduces inflammation in the gut (Jiang et al., 2023) | Competitive bacterial interations (Kraft-Bodi et al., 2015), immune signaling (Boisen et al., 2023) | BioGaia, SUNSTAR Suisse S.A. | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Gut probiotic |
| Lactobacillus acidophillus (multiple strains) | Multiple, strains rarely defined | Intestine, urinary tract, vagina; transient member of the oral cavity | None, implicated in caries progression (Bunting et al., 1928; Leme et al., 2022) | None | Nuveda Wellness, Great Oral Health, Swanson, Henry Blooms, RENUzORAL | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Food starter culture; gut probiotic |
| Bifidobacterium breve Bb-03 (B-3) | Human feces (Acharya and Shah, 2002) | Intestine | None | None | Nuveda Wellness, NatureWise | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Gut probiotic for infants and adults |
| Bifidobacterium lactis Bl-04 | human feces (Rodolphe et al., 2009) | Intestine | None | None | Nuveda Wellness, NatureWise | Generally Recognized as Safe (food/dietary supplement ingredient) | Gut probiotic for infants and adults |
Details include the original isolation source, mechanism of action, and documented probiotic benefit, if any, in the oral cavity along with relevant literature citations. Companies marketing products that include the listed species and/or strains, the US regulatory status of the strain, and the most common use are also included.