Pediatric toothpastes in the inhibition of Streptococcus mutans, in vitro study

Abstract

Introduction. Dental caries is a highly prevalent multifactorial disease that affects billions of people around the world, mainly at an early age. The application of toothpastes for its prevention is one of the most used strategies, with a wide range of dental caries on the market. supply of these products, so it is important to demonstrate effectiveness against the main microbial causal agent. Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of five brands of pediatric toothpaste in inhibiting Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175 and establish its relationship with fluoride concentration. Methodology. The study was descriptive, cross-sectional observational, non-experimental. The experimental units were made up of 50 boxes of Müeller-Hinton agar enriched with blood, in which the strain of Streptococcus mutans was inoculated and a disc was placed with the toothpastes: Colgate KIDS ZERO, Blendax Kids, Trial KIDS, Oral-B KID'S and Blendy COOL, in 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16 and 1:32 solutions for each brand. It was incubated at 36ºC for 48 hours and subsequently the inhibition zones were measured, the experiment was replicated 10 times per sample and the data were processed in SPSS version 36. Results. It is established that there are greater inhibitory effects in 1:2 dilution, highlighting the brands Blendax Kids and Blendy Cool (X =12.20 mm); X = 10.12mm), in dilutions 1: 8 and 1:16, the inhibitor effect decreases in dentifriques such as Trial Kids and Colgate Zero and is void in the other dental pastes. Conclusion. The Blendax Kids and Blendy Cool pastes in 1:2 solution have greater effectiveness, under laboratory conditions compared to the other dilutions and brands of the study, it was also demonstrated that there is a statistically significant difference between the inhibitory values ​​shown between the evaluated pastes (p= 0.001) and there is no compensation between the inhibitory effect and the fluorine concentration. General area of ​​study: Dentistry. Specific area of ​​study: Pediatric dentistry, microbiology. Type of study: Original Article.