Abstract
In many cases, periodontal disease among the school age children is caused by bad oral hygiene and the main factor is also dental plaque as well as dental caries. Many studies have been done on the relationship between Cariostat and dental caries. However few studies have been performed on the relationship between Cariostat and periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relationship between Cariostat and gingivitis. We examined the relationship among caries activity test (CARIOSTAT^[○!R]), salivary occult blood test (SALIVASTER^[○!R]), gingivitis, and dental caries in 437 junior high school children. 1. The Cariostat score after 24 h incubation was correlated significantly (p<0.001) with both dental caries (D-T) and gingivitis. When the gingivitis index was divided into three groups (severe and moderate/slight/normal), the distribution of Cariostat score among the three groups showed significant difference (chi-square test plt;0.001). 2. The Cariostat score after 48 h incubation was also correlated significantly with both dental caries (D-T) and gingivitis (plt;0.05 and plt;0.001 respectively). However, the distribution of Cariostat score among the three groups did not show any difference. 3. The Salivaster test score was correlated with gingivitis (plt;0.05), but not with dental caries. The distribution of Salivaster score among the three groups did not show any significant difference. 4. The Cariostat score after 24 h incubation was not correlated with the Salivaster test score. 5. The specificity and sensitivity for gingivitis were 0.34 and 0.83, respectively, when the Cariostat score of 1.0 after 24 h incubation was used as the screening point. On the other hand, both the specificity and sensitivity were 0.55 when the Salivaster test score of (+) was used as the screening point. The Cariostat score after 24 h incubation was correlated with both gingivitis and dental caries. These results suggest that the Cariostat score could reflect the oral hygiene status and be correlated with gingivitis as well as with dental caries.
