COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL EFFICACY OF TWO COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE HERBAL AND NON-HERBAL (FLUORIDATED) TOOTHPASTES ON SALIVARY MICROBIAL COUNT: AN IN-VIVO STUDY

Dental caries is a complex disease which is expressed as an interaction between various factors including the host, agent, substrate and time. The interplay between the dental biofilm and oral microorganisms is an important feature for development of a cariogenic dental plaque. Formation of the biofilm needs to be controlled through regular brushing in order to prevent the development of caries and periodontal diseases. Hence a study was conducted to evaluate and compare in-vivo the effect of two commercially available herbal and non-herbal (fluoridated) toothpastes on salivary bacterial count in 5 – 10 years age children with 3 – 6 decayed teeth. 40 children were randomly allocated into two groups I and II. Group I were provided with Fluoridated (Kidodent) toothpaste and Group II with Herbal (Babool) toothpaste. Participants were scored for plaque index and saliva sample was collected as the baseline score (day 0). After demonstration of brushing technique participants were asked to brush twice daily. The plaque index score and saliva sample was once again collected at the end of Day 15. The baseline mean bacterial counts significantly reduced from 37.65 to 15.57 in Group I and from 38.08 to 16.88 in Group II. Whereas mean plaque index score were reduced from 1.75 to 0.71 in Group I and 1.87 to 0.79 in Group II. Both Kidodent and Babool significantly reduce bacterial and plaque scores at 15 days interval. But there was no statistical significant difference between two pastes.