Efecto de una pasta dental con xilitol sobre el perfil salival en niños de cinco años. Artículo original.

Introduction. Awareness of the efficacy of preventive dentistry is an essential basis for decreasing the incidence of tooth decay, in particular in pediatric and adolescent population, due to their higher exposure to risk factors. A preventive measure is the use of xylitol, which according to clinical studies has been shown to be anticariogenic by improving some components of the salivary profile. Objective. To determine the effect of a toothpaste with 1% xylitol on salivary profile after 30 days of use in five-year-old children. Material and methods. The research follows a type of experimental design, longitudinal and prospective, 25 five-year-old children from a public institution in the city of Trujillo were randomly selected and analyzed for salivary profile (volume, flow, pH, buffer capacity, Streptococcus mutans quantification, and fluoride concentration) before and after 30 days of using a toothpaste with 1% xylitol. The data were analyzed by statistical Student's t test with a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05), the statistical package SPSS version 22 was used. Results. The mean values of the components of the salivary profile before and after the use of toothpaste with xylitol were: salivary density: 4.165 ml and 4.020 ml (p > 0.5), salivary flow: 0.416 ml/min and 0.402 ml/min (p > 0.5), population density of Streptococcus mutans: 338 800 (CFU) and 113 695 (CFU) (p < 0.05), salivary pH: 6.722 and 6.767 (p > 0.05), buffer capacity: 5.009 and 5.088 (p > 0.05) and salivary fluoride concentration: 0.033 ppm and 0.262 ppm (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The effect of toothpaste with 1% xylitol used in oral hygiene (without modification of technique or brushing times) in five-year-old children after 30 days of use was: to reduce the population density of Streptococcus mutans salival since 338,800 until 113,695 CFU and increase the concentration of salivary fluoride since 0.033 until 0.262 ppm, and does not produce significant variation in average values of volume, flow, pH and salivary buffer capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]