{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T21:02:09Z","timestamp":1788555729206,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":89,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,3]],"date-time":"2024-07-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1719964800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The tongue harbors about two-thirds of the microorganisms present in the mouth; the stable bacterial population consists mainly of aerobic and facultative anaerobic streptococci. These bacterial colonies, found more frequently on the tongue than on the outside of the hard part of the dental enamel in children younger than 18 months, suggest that the tongue is a potential bacterial reservoir. The aim of this review is to examine the scientific literature to clarify whether the mechanical removal of bacterial biofilm on the tongue can have a positive effect on caries prevention, with the reduction in colony-forming unit (CFU) of salivary streptococcus and the whole-mouth plaque index (FMPS). Methods: An open literature search was conducted by using PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. The most studied age range was 9 to 12 years, with groups of children with no caries and groups with a minimum number of two teeth that were reconstructed, decayed and\/or missing (DMFS\/dmfs &gt; 2) who experienced different tongue hygiene methods for the first time. Results: Four randomized trials met the search criteria and were included in this review. Conclusions: The results obtained suggest that specific tongue hygiene protocols, combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, could be considered the gold standard to enable more effective primary prevention and improve the health of pediatric patients. This review improves the understanding of the impact of tongue hygiene in controlling the bacteria responsible for the onset of carious disease and its systemic correlates; however, further research with more data is needed to further confirm the findings of this research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children11070816","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,3]],"date-time":"2024-07-03T04:23:43Z","timestamp":1719980623000},"page":"816","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Oral Health and Caries Prevention: How Tongue Hygiene Helps Maintain Balance of Microbiota and Overall Health in Pediatric Patients"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7776-6598","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanna","family":"Mosaico","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher, 72012 Carovigno, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mara","family":"Pinna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Sciences, Oral Biotechnology Laboratory (OBL), University of Cagliari, 09121 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roberta","family":"Grassi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral Surgery, Tor Vergata University, 00100 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1032-4431","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Germano","family":"Orr\u00f9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Sciences, Oral Biotechnology Laboratory (OBL), University of Cagliari, 09121 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2760-0124","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Scribante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Section of Dentistry, Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"},{"name":"Unit of Dental Hygiene, Section of Dentistry, Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1610-9142","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carolina","family":"Maiorani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Dental Hygiene, Section of Dentistry, Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7962-2712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cinzia","family":"Casu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Sciences, Oral Biotechnology Laboratory (OBL), University of Cagliari, 09121 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9329-9149","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gianna Maria","family":"Nardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2457-4415","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Butera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Dental Hygiene, Section of Dentistry, Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1021","DOI":"10.1177\/0022034520924633","article-title":"The Bacterial Connection between the Oral Cavity and the Gut Diseases","volume":"99","author":"Kitamoto","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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