Abstract
BACKGROUND: This in vivo study was done to investigate the antimicrobial effectiveness of Nano Silver fluoride, Sodium fluoride and Chlorhexidine when used as a varnish on Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans) in saliva and plaque biofilm. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 120 caries free subjects, aged 8-10 years were randomly assigned to four different groups (n=30) - group I: Control, group II: Chlorhexidine varnish (CHX), group III: Sodium fluoride varnish (NaF), group IV: Nano Silver fluoride varnish (NSF). Varnish application was done once at baseline. Saliva and plaque samples were collected at baseline (T0), at the end of 1 month (T1) and 3 months (T3) to evaluate S.mutans levels by culture method, optical density and PCR. OHI-S Index was also recorded for clinical evaluation. RESULTS: NSF, CHX and NaF were effective against S.mutans activity. The intragroup comparision of CFU/ml and OD/ml count showed a highly significant reduction from baseline to 3 months for all the 3 varnish groups (p=0.001). PCR result revealed that maximum reduction was seen in NSF and CHX followed by NaF group. CONCLUSIONS: NSF reduces S.mutans level in both saliva and plaque biofilm and it is more advantageous than CHX and NaF as it has dual properties of acting as an antibacterial as well as a remineralizing agent. Key words:Chlorhexidine, Nano Silver fluoride, Sodium fluoride, S. mutans, varnish.