Treating Patients with Autism in a Dental Setting
Course Number: 402
Course Contents
Probiotics
Oral care probiotics are probiotics intended for the oral cavity to help maintain a healthy oral flora. One of the most studied and accepted oral care probiotics is EvoraPro® by Oragenics (Figure 29). While most probiotics are ingested orally, they are not intended to confer an oral benefit. EvoraPro’s® patented blend of probiotic strains (ProBiora3®) naturally derive from the pockets of healthy mouths and are intended to confer an oral benefit. ProBiora3® is Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™) and Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis KJ2™) which are both associated with gingival tissue health as well as Streptococcus rattus (S. rattus JH145™) specific to tooth health. These probiotic bacteria synergistically work as antagonists to undesirable oral bacteria associated with rampant caries, bad breath and oral infections, challenges dental patients face indiscriminately.
EvoraPro® ideally should be taken orally every evening after normal oral hygiene routines are completed. Once activated via saliva (by chewing and swishing around mouth, sucking on until dissolved, or crushing the tablet and placing in the mouth), ProBiora3® competes with the diseasing causing pathogenic microorganisms for the same nutrient layer and space that proliferates below the gum line, deep down in the base of the pocket in and around the crevices of the tooth and occlusal surfaces.
Imagine the impact of helping to maintain our patients oral health by including EvoraPro® as part of optimal care for all our patients!
In a 2009 human clinical study,11 the effects of daily usage of EvoraPro® oral care probiotics over 4 weeks resulted in a decrease in the levels of Streptococcus mutans in 84% of the subjects tested. Across all subjects there was an average six fold reduction, thus reducing the risk from moderate to low according to the CAMBRA index. Also documented was a greater than 300 fold decrease in the levels of Camplylocacter rectus a toxic Gram negative bacterium pathogenic in gum and periodontal disease. A greater than 100 fold decrease response was also noted in Porphyromonas gingivalis among other oral pathogens within a month of use.
Probiotics come from Latin and Greek words literally meaning “For Life.” With the implementation of EvoraPro3® as part of the all natural hygiene protocol we can now assist all patients reestablish and/or maintain the delicate balance between oral micro flora and the host to prevent the over colonization of undesirable micro-organisms that they sometimes cannot prevent on their own.
Bi-directional interactions between the mouth and the body play an important role in the maintenance of oral health and general well being. Including oral care probiotics will assist the family in naturally and consistently improve oral health relevant to children with autism.11,12
Figure 29. EvoraPro.
Source: EvoraPro