Investigation of Antifungal Effects of Different Remineralization Agents on Salivary Candida amount in children with Early Childhood Caries

Objectives: In recent years, Candida has been associated with dental caries in children. The association of Candida albicans with the onset of ECC is well known. In addition to mutans streptococci and lactobacilli, Candida spp. is frequently present in the oral cavity of children with ECC. The purpose of this study was to compare different remineralization agents for Candida count in children with Severe Early Childhood Caries (S-ECC). Materials and Methods: Fifty-four healthy children aged 3 to 5 years, diagnosed with S-ECC, were examined, and 21 candida-positive children were included in the study. Children were randomly assigned to 3 groups; 500 ppm NaF toothpaste (Control) group; 10% CPP-ACP group and CaGP and 12% Xylitol group. Oral hygiene training was given to the children and they were told to use remineralization agents 3 times a day for 3-5 min for 2 weeks. Unstimulated saliva was quantitatively cultured for Candida counts. The number of colonies of Candida species was determined at the baseline, 2nd week, 1st and 4th months. All analyses were performed with SPSS statistics version 23. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between baseline and 1st and 4th month Candida count in CaGP + 12% Xylitol group (p 0,05). Conclusions: These results suggest that remineralization agents can reduce the count of Candida, thus it can be effective in caries management.