RESUMO
Objective: to clarify the benefits related to the use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the prevention of dental caries in children, we compared the antibacterial pro-perties of silver nanoparticles, chlorhexidine, and silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to Streptococcus mutans. Mate-rials and method: to analyze the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) we used the spectrophotometric microdilution method (SMM), and turbidity. We also verified the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the target products. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare MIC and MBC among the groups studied. Results: regarding antimicrobial proprieties, the tested substances showed effective bacteriostatic and bactericide activity. The silver nanoparticles had the lowest value of MIC against reference strains (ATCC 25175) (p < 0.05). In clinical strains, the MIC value of silver nanoparticles was comparable to that of chlorhe-xidine (p > 0.05), and lower than SDF (p < 0.05). Con-clusion: silver nanoparticles proved to have antimicro-bial activity against S. mutans, therefore, they may be an effective agent in the prevention of dental caries