Spectrophotometric Analysis of Streptococcus mutans Growth and Biofilm Formation in Saliva and Histatin-5 Relate to pH and Viscosity

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the ability of saliva in controlling the growth and the biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) as well as the effect of histatin-5 anti-biofilm relate to pH and saliva viscosity. Material and Methods: The S. mutans biofilm assayed by crystal violet 1% and its growth measured by spectrophotometer. The saliva viscosity was analyzed by viscometer, and pH of saliva was measured by pH meter. Results: Based on the optical density values, growth of S. mutans in saliva ranged <300 CFU/mL (0.1 nm) at concentrations of 25%, 12.5% and 6.25% for 24 hours. Whereas at the 48 h and 72 h period of incubation shown an increase in growth of S. mutans ranged 300-600 CFU/mL (0.2-0.36 nm). The inhibitory biofilm formation of S. mutans in saliva was significantly higher at concentrations of 12.5% and 6.25% at 24 h incubation times on a moderate scale, whereas the histatin-5 was effective to inhibit S. mutans biofilm on the 50 and 25 ppm. The saliva possessed a higher inhibitory of biofilm S. mutans than histatin-5 and good level viscosity (0.91-0.92 cP). Conclusion: The saliva was able to control the growth of S. mutans, and histatin-5 can inhibit the biofilm formation S. mutans. Furthermore, the saliva was also able to respond to the pH change with good viscosity of saliva.

Vertical Cephalic Index, Dental Arch and Palatal Depth Measurement: A Study in Bataknese Children

Objective: To evaluate the cephalic indices among Bataknese school students. Material and Methods: An observational study was performed by measuring 95 Bataknese children aged 3-5 years using a purposive sampling technique. The vertical cephalic index was measured directly in children, while the dental arch and palatal depth were measured on maxillary impressions. Vertical cephalic index data were obtained by measuring the height and length of the child's head directly. Measurement was performed three times by three different people. Cephalic height was measured by a digital calipers by placing each edge of the calipers on the nasion and gnathion. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the mean and standard deviation. Results: The analysis of height and cephalic length showed that the highest values were 9.28 cm and 18.13 cm, while the lowest were 7.43 cm and 13.43 cm, respectively. The means for Maxillary canine arch width and Maxillary molar arch width were 30.66 mm and 46.69 mm, respectively. For the Maxillary canine arch depth, the mean was 12.0 mm, while for the Maxillary molar arch depth was 28.65 mm. The palatal depth was 14.33. Conclusion: The majority of Bataknese children have a dolichocephalic head shape with a tapered maxillary dental arch and a narrow one.