Effect of full mouth rehabilitation on the amount of Streptococcus mutans in children with Early Childhood Caries.

AIM The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of full mouth rehabilitation on the amount of S. mutans in children with Early Childhood Caries. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-nine children between 2 and 5 years old treated under general anaesthesia participated in this study. Prior to treatment two baselines samples were collected, one of dental plaque and one of saliva. In addition, samples were obtained one week post operatively, and then three months later. In each sampling, the amount and the concentration (cfu/ml) of S. mutans were evaluated. RESULTS The findings demonstrate that the operative procedures under general anaesthesia, significantly decrease (p<0.01) the concentration (cfu/ml) and the amount of S. mutans for at least three months. After three months, saliva concentrations and plaque colony numbers of S. mutans increased significantly in relation to one week post-operatively (p<0.01). However, none of the saliva or plaque samples collected three months following treatment reached the pretreatment levels of S. mutans in any of our subjects. CONCLUSIONS The data indicates that full mouth rehabilitation under general anaesthesia produces a statistically significant decrease in S. mutans levels for at least three months.