Comparison of the Effect of Diode Laser Irradiation and Fluoride Varnish on Salivary Streptococcus mutans Bacterial Colonies Counts: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess antibacterial effects of diode laser irradiation and fluoride varnish on Streptococcus (S) mutans bacterial colonies counts in saliva. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a randomized controlled clinical trial research, in which 36 healthy caries-free schoolchildren aged 7-10 years referred to Birjand University dental school were selected randomly. None of the subjects had used any fluoride products before sampling. They divided into three groups: Group A: Diode laser irradiation, Group B: Fluoride varnish (FV) + diode laser irradiation, and Group C: FV. From each child, the baseline unstimulated saliva samples were obtained, transferred to the mitis salivarius agar (MSA) culture media and assessed for S. mutans colonies counts. The follow-up unstimulated saliva samples were collected one day after the treatments. Then the number of colony-forming units per milliliter were counted and analyzed statistically using Wilcoxon, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests (p ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: No adverse events were reported. Salivary count of S. mutans significantly decreased in all groups. The highest and lowest number of the colonies of S. mutans in treated groups was observed in group I and group II, respectively. S. mutans was not completely eliminated by any of the treatments. CONCLUSION: Considering the limitations of this study, antimicrobial efficacy of fluoride varnish + diode laser was higher than that of FV or diode laser alone. So this laser in combination with fluoride varnish may be useful in prevention of dental caries and antimicrobial treatment protocols. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: IRCTID: IRCT 201,706 181,7756N20 HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Darmiani S, Yousefi M, Rad MS. Comparison of the Effect of Diode Laser Irradiation and Fluoride Varnish on Salivary Streptococcus mutans Bacterial Colonies Counts: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(S-2):S239-S241.