Abstract
This study was conducted to examine the validity of the Cariostat test among kindergarden children. Two cotton swabs were used to take plaque samples and to put them separately into Cariostat amples. One ample was made to incubate immediately after that (control group), while the other ample was made to incubate after keeping it at 18°C for 24 hours (study group). The Cariostat scores of each group were compared and the following results were obtained;
1. There was no significant difference in the distribution of Cariostat scores between the control and study groups.
2. The passing time period from sampling to estimation did not influence the results of Cariostat scores in this study.
3. The Cariostat scores showed a highly significant correlation in two groups (p<0.01). Forty two percent of the cariostat scores in both groups showed same scores at 24 hours. Similarly,46% of the cariostat scores showed the same results at 48 hours and 52% indicated the same results at 72 hours. From these results, it was suggested that the Cariostat had a validity even when starting the incubation after keeping the amples at 18°C for 24 hours.
