ABSTRACT
Background: High fluorine concentrations in drinking water are associated with a decrease in the amount of salivary S mutants. Taking into account that clinical dental fluorosis can appear with 1.5 ppm of fluorine in the drinking water, fluorine concentration in Mami-a is 2.4 ppm. Aim: To quantify salivary S mutans in school age children from Mami-a, a zone with a high fluorine content in the drinking water, during one year. Material and methods: During 1997 and 1998, dental health was assessed and salivary samples were obtained from 51 children (27 male) aged 10 ñ 2 years to quantify S mutans. Results: Most children studied had more than 105 salivary S mutans colony forming units. No changes in the rates of infection or dental health characteristics were observed during the observation year. Conclusions: High fluorine content in the drinking water did not have an effect on salivary S mutans infection in this population
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Streptococcus mutans/isolation & purification , Fluorosis, Dental/epidemiology , Saliva/microbiology , Drinking Water , Fluoridation/adverse effects , Oral Hygiene IndexABSTRACT
Background: Salivary Streptococci mutans contamination is considered the main microbiological risk factor for the initiation of caries. Aim: To assess the oral health of pregnant women, counting Salivary Streptococci mutants. Patients and methods: One hundred seventy four pregnant women, in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy, aged 27 ñ 5 years old, consulting at a public primary health center, were studied. Puerperal women that had their delivery two months before, were studied as a control group. Salivary samples were obtained and Streptococci mutans colonies were counted using quantitative and semiquantitative methods. Results: There was a good concordance between both counting methods. No differences in Streptococci mutans counts were observed among the three groups of pregnant women, but the latter as a group had higher counts than puerperal women. Women with more than 5 caries had also higher counts. Conclusions: Semiquantitative Streptococci mutans counts are easy, rapid and non invasive and have a good concordance with quantitative counts in saliva