A comparative study of plaque mutans streptococci levels in children receiving glass ionomer cement and amalgam restorations.

PURPOSE

The restorative materials amalgam (Standalloy F) and glass ionomer cements (Chelon Silver) were comparatively investigated to determine the number of mutans streptococci

METHODS

Saliva and plaque were collected from patients before and 40 days after the insertion of their restorations.

RESULTS

Total bateria and mutans streptococci counts were found to be statistically significantly reduced when compared with the prerestoration counts in the saliva samples (P<0.001). Microbiological analysis of the dental plaque showed that the number of mutans streptococci in the glass ionomer cements was significantly lower than in the amalgam restorations (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that silver glass ionomer cements inhibited the growth of mutans streptococci.