Effect of Chlorhexidine, Fluoride and Green Tea Oral Gel on Pediatric Salivary Cariogenic Bacteria: A Clinical Trial Study

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of chlorhexidine, fluoride and green tea gel on salivary S. mutans and Lactobacillus in children. Materials and Methods: The present single-blinded clinical trial was conducted on 60 children aged 4- 6 years in pediatric dental clinic of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran, in 2019. Children randomly were divided into three groups of 20. In each group, one of green tea 5% gel, chlorhexidine 2% gel or fluoride 0.2% gel was applied to teeth of children for five minutes before spitting out. Unstimulated saliva samples were taken from children before intervention, 30 minutes and one week after gel applications. Real-time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction method was used for counting bacteria. Flavor acceptability of each gel was also recorded using the Visual Analogue Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21.0. Results: Participants were equally distributed in terms of gender and the mean DMFT score was not different between three groups. Green tea 5%, chlorhexidine 2% and fluoride 0.2% gel reduced the count of salivary S. mutans and Lactobacillus at 30 minutes and one week after intervention (P=0.000). Bacterial count increased one week after the application of chlorhexidine gel. However, a week after the application of green tea gel, the bacterial count was still less than what it was 30 minutes post application. The flavor acceptability of green tea was higher than chlorhexidine (P=0.007). Conclusion: The gel form of green tea, fluoride and chlorhexidine reduced salivary S. mutans count. However, the durability and flavor acceptance of green tea was more than chlorhexidine and fluoride gel.