Oral microbiome products are moving from a niche dental supplement category into a broader oral wellness one. The market is growing and is projected to reach $3.6bn by 2033, with a CAGR of 13.1%, driven by rising demand for preventive dental care and increased consumer awareness of microbiome balance and systemic health.
Tooth decay and gum disease are widespread in the US, affecting more than 90% and 50% of the population, respectively. Consumers are already familiar with probiotics for gut health and are now exploring new avenues to support mouth health.
This is creating a new target for functional products, with probiotics currently leading the way.
However, oral probiotics cannot simply be gut ones in a different format — which creates new challenges for formulators and R&D teams. Selecting the right probiotic strain is crucial, which is pushing the category towards more strain-specific, clinically substantiated and targeted approaches. Dr Jessica Neilands (pictured), Senior Science Manager at Probi, spoke to Emily Letton at Nutraceutical Business Review to explain more.
Why oral probiotics need different science
“The oral cavity presents a very different environment to the gastrointestinal tract,” said Dr Neilands. An oral probiotic must be designed for the mouth’s oxygen-rich environment, which has constant salivary flow, a fluctuating pH and multiple surfaces, including the tongue, teeth, gums and oral mucosa. A probiotic designed for the gut, however, will be selected to survive stomach acid and bile and then interact with the intestinal lining.
Thus, the two different locations will need different types of probiotic strains, making strain selection particularly important.
Probi looks to start their development process with
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