Abstract :
Introduction: Oral cavity harbors wide variety of microorganisms; these are considered crucial for the
dental caries initiation and progression. Plaque-induced caries is a local disease; therefore, dentifrices are
the most ideal vehicle for the daily delivery of antibacterial agents. In recent years, adjuncts to fluorides
such as probiotics chlorhexidine have been proposed to in view of antiplaque and anticariogenic properties
by means of reduction of bacterial count.
Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the anticariogenic activity and improvement in the oral health status of
participants over a period of 45 days.
Materials and Methods: A single blinded, parallel group, randomized controlled clinical study was
conducted among healthy adults. Thirty individuals were randomly allocated to two groups (n = 15):
Group I – probiotic dentifrice (test group)
Group II – no intervention (control group)
Saliva samples were evaluated for Streptococcus mutans colony forming unit (CFU/ml of saliva) at
baseline, 15th, 30th, 45th day of follow-up. Paired t-test and one-way.
ANOVA were used to compare the mean differences of salivary S. mutans counts at the three time periods.
Results: The mean S. mutans counts in saliva samples were significantly reduced in the treatment group at
the 45th day of follow-up.
Conclusion: The test group exhibited antimicrobial activity by bringing about a significant reduction in the
mean S. mutans colony counts at the 30th day & 45th day of follow-up.
Keyword :
Probiotic, Streptococcus mutans, Dentifrice.