EVALUATION OF ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIAL OF LICORICE AND XYLITOL CONTAINING SUCROSE FREE HARD CANDIES IN HIGH CARIES RISK PATIENTS

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effi cacy of sucrose-free hard candies containing xylitol and licorice for preventing dental caries in high-risk individuals.

Materials and Methods: Total 80 participants were enrolled based on inclusion criteria. Participants were divided at random into four groups of twenty. Group A consumed stevia-sweetened hard candies including licorice extract, Group B consumed stevia-sweetened hard candies containing xylitol extract, Group C consumed stevia-sweetened hard candies, and Group D consumed sucrose-sweetened hard candies. For the fi rst ten days, participants were asked to eat 2 candies each day; saliva samples were collected at Day 0, after fourteen days following the baseline saliva collection, and after six months after the intervention. Each participant was asked to spit into a sterile plastic container until a suffi cient quantity (5ml) of un-stimulated saliva was collected. It took place between 9 and 10 a.m. For at least an hour before the saliva sample was taken, the individual was requested to abstain from all forms of oral care. The statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 20.

Results: Eighty participants finish the experiment and follow the instructions. CFU and pH data for streptococcus mutans in saliva were done as experimental analysis. The mean percentage change in CFU of Streptococcus mutans (%) varied signifi cantly across hard candies over the course of each time period (baseline to fourteen days, P<0.001; fourteen days to six months,  P<0.001; and baseline to six months, P<0.001). There was a statistically signifi cant difference in mean salivary pH across various assessment periods within Base line to fourteen days (P<0.001) and Fourteen days to six months (P=0.019) and Base line to six months (P<0.001). The connection between bacterial count and salivary pH was found to be -0.142 (P=0.212) using Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Conclusion: Licorice or xylitol extract are used to make sugar-free hard candies that are antibacterial, although the effect wears off with time. Hard candies without sugar have been proven to decrease cariogenic bacteria, while having an essentially neutral effect on pH.