RESUMO
AIMS: The objective of this study was to develop a new website in Spanish on oral health and dental care for use by the relatives/caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome, with the aim of incorporating the strengths and avoids the deficiencies of existing websites. METHODS: A freely accessible website was developed with dental content, whose access criteria included the age of the individual undergoing the consultation and the area of interest (tongue or teeth disease, oral functionality, oral hygiene, and dental visits). The definitive version of the website was analyzed by five external examiners, applying the DISCERN criteria and the Questionnaire to Evaluate Health Web Sites According to European Criteria (QEEC). The website's traffic during the first year of activity was recorded. RESULTS: The new website is known as "DentiDown", and its access domain is https://odontoloxia-accessible.org/dentidown/. On the home screen, the age group of interest to the user can be accessed. A dropdown menu then opens, listing the various options according to the area of interest. The oral hygiene section provides advice for improving toothbrushing efficacy through demonstration videos. With the DISCERN tool, an overall score of 4.75 ± 0.5 was achieved. With the QEEC, the external examiners' general opinion was highly favorable. The website received the seal of quality from the Accredited Medical Web (AMW). During the first year of activity, a total of 4536 visits from a total of 45 countries were recorded. CONCLUSION: A new Spanish website has been developed on oral health for use by the relatives/caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome. The website has been favorably evaluated by external experts and, to date, is the only one with these characteristics with the AMW seal of quality.
RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Probiotics are living microorganisms that act on the host-microbiome interface to restore the microbiota's physiological homeostasis. Numerous probiotics have been marketed with inhibitory activity against Streptococcus mutans and consequently with a potential anti-caries effect, mainly of the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, whose main disadvantage is their limited ability to settle in the oral cavity. METHODS: This narrative review describes the main Streptococcus spp. with probiotic anti-Streptococcus mutans activity, whose substantivity is greater than that of Lactobacillus spp. and consequently with anti-caries potentiality. We performed a literature review in the PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases of articles published in English (without time restriction) related to caries and probiotics. RESULTS: The potential identified anti-caries probiotics included Streptococcus spp. A12, Streptococcus oralis (AJ3), Streptococcus oligofermentans, Streptococcus salivarius (K12, M18, JH, LAB813, 24SMB), Streptococcus spp. with arginolytic activity (S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, S. ratti, S. parasanguinis, S. intermedius, S. australis, and S. cristatus), Streptococcus rattus (JH145), Streptococcus dentisani and Streptococcus downii. CONCLUSIONS: The possibility of using these Streptococcus spp. as probiotics that inhibit the growth of dental plaque and the development of carious lesions represents a potential tool of particular interest for individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities that impede the routine and effective application of mechanical dental plaque removal techniques.
