Salivary counts of lactobacilli and Streptococcus mutans in caries prediction.

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether a combination of tests of salivary counts of lactobacilli and S. mutans would be of more value in caries prediction than each test used by itself. The study was done on 179 children 8 and 13 yr old. The mean caries increments in these children were 1.5 and 3.7 new caries lesions per year, respectively. The results showed that these tests or a combination of them are not specific in selecting caries risk patients. A combination of the two tests, however, was more efficient in selecting these patients than each test used by itself.