Dental caries experience and salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli in 13-15 years old children of Belgaum city, Karnataka.

The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 372 school going children of Belgaum aged 13-15 years. The sample was selected by two stage random sampling method. The aim of the study was to estimate the salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli and to study the relationship between these microorganisms and dental caries experience. The DMFT was recorded according to the WHO criteria(1997).The microbial load was estimated from a single saliva sample obtained from the children. The mean DMFT recorded was 2.41. Streptococcus mutans was detected in 87.37% and Lactobacilli in only 36.71% of the sample. Statistically, highly significant relation was found between Streptococcus mutans and DMFT categories (chi2=125.36, P<0.001), while Lactobacilli was not statistically related to DMFT categories (chi2=8.78, P>0.05).