Comparative Evaluation of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Toothpastes Containing Probiotic and Neem as Primary Ingredient on Salivary Streptococcus mutans in Melmaruvathur Population: An In Vivo Study

AIM: This in vivo study was designed to compare the antimicrobial effect of toothpastes containing probiotics and neem on Streptococcus mutans in 18–30-year-old patients in Melmaruvathur population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study consisted of 60 patients who were randomly divided into two groups of 30 each. Group I received probiotic-based toothpaste (PerioBiotic), whereas Group II received neem-based toothpaste (Babool) as a preventive measure protocols to control the incidence and prevalence of dental caries. STUDY DESIGN PROTOCOLS: Participants were instructed to use the dentifrice selected for the study, two times a day for 60 days. Tests were performed on the saliva samples at the beginning of the study, 0 day, 15th day, 30th day, and 60th day following the use of toothpaste. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-25) software, version, and Chi-square and one-way analysis of variance were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The toothpastes containing neem and probiotics as primary ingredients were efficient in reducing the number of bacterial count when comparing the baseline data with the 60 days data in both the groups as a therapeutic regimen. Intragroup values showed reduction in the number of bacterial count in both the groups in a gradual manner, whereas the intergroup values between the toothpaste showed no statistically significant difference in the bacterial count, and both toothpastes were efficient in reducing the bacterial count. CONCLUSION: This study reveals the influence of probiotics and neem on salivary S. mutans levels. The results revealed that neem-based and probiotic-based toothpaste, which were tested in this study, showed comparable antibacterial activity against the S. mutans. The neem-based toothpaste showed promising and good antimicrobial activity and reduced the level of bacterial count, which can be attributed to the presence of secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, lectins, and polyphenols, as its active components. The effect of each component against the S. mutans needs to be quantified in further studies, and within the limitation of this short study, it can be considered as a better choice than commercially available toothpaste, which predominantly has chemicals as active ingredients, which in turn can compromise the safety aspects in the patients when used for controlling the dental caries for a longer duration.