Year: 2023 | Month: December | Volume: 13 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 252-258
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20231230
Correlation of Salivary Streptococcus Mutans’ Count between Mothers and Their Neonates within 48 Hours of Birth – An Ex-Vivo Study
Reetu Shah1, Vasudha Sodani1, Mayur Gandhi2, Dipti Shah3, Anvi Shah1
1Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Ahmedabad Dental College and Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
2Department of Gynaecology Department of Gynecology, GMERS Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
3Department of Paediatrics, GMERS Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Corresponding Author: Reetu Shah
ABSTRACT
Context: Streptococcus Mutans are one of the causes for development of carious lesion. With the emergence of deciduous teeth, the number and species of the microflora in the oral ecosystem continues to grow and along with Streptococcus Mutans can cause early childhood caries.
Aims: To detect co-relation of Streptococcus Mutans’ count between mother and their neonates.
Settings and Design:
Methods and Material:
Sample size - 60 healthy mothers and their 60 neonates born through vaginal-delivery
Group 1: 30 Pregnant women with DMFT score less than 5.
Group 2: 30 Pregnant women with DMFT score more than or equal to 5.
Salivary swab samples will be taken from mothers’ oral cavity and from their neonates’ oral cavity at the time of birth. Salivary swab samples of infants will also be collected after 48 hours of delivery. Samples will be stored in peptone water and will be grown on the Salivarius Mitis agar. Visible S. mutans colonies grown on these media will be counted using a bacterial colony counter.
Statistical analysis used: Mann Whitney U test
Results: Significant difference was observed in samples taken from neonates after 48 hours of both groups. Neonates of group 2 showed significantly higher SM count compared to neonates of group 1.
Conclusions: Vertical transmission of SM was observed from mothers to neonates. Nevertheless, environmental factors also seemed influential in colonisation of SM in infants' oral cavity.
Key words: Streptococcus mutans, Vertical transmission, Salivary swab, Microbial count