Impact of Prebiotic and Probiotic Knowledge and Consumption on Oral Health in Adults Attending Dental Clinics

INTRODUCTION: Studies on specific probiotics and oral health are insufficient, and studies on prebiotics are very few in the literature. Therefore, this study investigated whether there is a relationship between prebiotic and probiotic food consumption and oral health.
METHODS: The study was conducted with 151 adult individuals. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, prebiotic and probiotic knowledge and consumption frequency were obtained through an online questionnaire. Dental health levels of the individuals were determined by calculating the DMFT (Decayed, Missing, Filled Tooth) index after a dental examination. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using SPSS package program version 29.0.2.0.
RESULTS: Most of the participants mentioned that they were familiar with the concept of probiotics, while they had heard of the concept of prebiotics before but did not know it completely. When the frequency of probiotic food consumption and oral health of the participants were analyzed, it was observed that individuals with a higher frequency of yogurt, buttermilk, pickles and olives consumption had better oral and dental health markers and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). When the same situation was analyzed for prebiotic foods, it was observed that individuals with higher consumption frequency of whole grains, oats, onions and garlic, tomatoes, bananas, honey, cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, etc.), legumes, asparagus, soybeans, oil seeds (nuts) and red fruits (blackberries, rose hips, etc.) had better oral and dental health markers and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Especially the level of knowledge about the prebiotic concept was found to be insufficient. Consumption of probiotic and prebiotic foods was significantly associated with improved oral health indicators in this population.

Keywords: Oral health, nutrition, prebiotic, probiotic.