Categories

Volume 5 Issue 6 (June, 2017)

Original Articles

ASSESSMENT OF SALIVARY STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS LEVELS IN PREGNANT WOMEN- A COMPARATIVE STUDY
Vishal Singh, Vidhi Shah

Background: One of the major etiologic factor in the occurrence of dental caries is Streptococcus mutans. In pregnancy, it is said that oral microbial flora shows a considerable alteration. Hence; we planned the present study to assess and compare the salivary streptococcus mutans levels in pregnant and non-pregnant subjects. Materials & methods: The present study included evaluation and comparison of salivary streptococcus mutans levels in pregnant and non- pregnant subjects. A total of 50 subjects were included, out of which, 25 were pregnant and 25 non- pregnant. Due to smaller sample size, we didn’t sub- classified the pregnant subjects based on their trimester of pregnancy. A caries-associated bacteria testing kit with a culture method was used in the present study. Each participant was given a paraffin pellet (provided in the kit), to be chewed upon for 1 min, and was instructed to swallow the stimulated saliva after the removal of the pellet. Sterile Strip was rotated ten times on the participant's tongue and was withdrawn gently with the teeth apart and lips closed to obtain a thin layer of saliva on the strip. After doing the incubation procedure, all the strips were carefully removed from the incubator and were assessed for colony forming units as criteria given previously in literature. All the values were recorded, summarized and analyzed by SPSS software. Results: In pregnant and non- pregnant subjects, the mean salivary streptococcus mutans levels were found to be 3.56 and 3.02, x105cfu/ml respectively. Non- significant results were obtained while comparing the mean salivary S. mutans levels in the two study groups. Conclusion: Special attention should be given to the oral health status of the pregnant subjects as hormonal changes can alter the oral environment in them.
Key words: Salivary, Streptococcus mutans, Pregnant

Corresponding author: Dr. Vishal Singh, Department of  Prosthodontics, Vananchal Dental College & Hospital, Garhwa, Jharkhand 822114, India

This article may be cited as: Singh V, Shah  V. Assessment of salivary streptococcus mutans levels in pregnant women: A comparative study. J Adv Med Dent Scie Res 2017;5(6):67-69.

 
Abstract View | Download PDF | Current Issue