A Comparison of Efficacy of Probiotic Toothpaste and Probiotic Mouthwash to Reduce Streptococcus Mutans in Plaque Around Orthodontic Brackets: An In Vivo Study

54 patients undergoing orthodontic treatment will be selectedrandomly. These patients will be divided into three groups of 18 patients each: Group 1: - Control Group, Group 2: - Probiotic Toothpaste, Group 3: - Probiotic Mouthwash.

Samples will be collected at two different occasions: Before the study begins (Phase 1)(T0) and After thirty days (Phase 2) (T1).

Plaque specimens willbe collected from the labial surfaces immediately surrounding the orthodonticbrackets of the maxillary lateral incisors with a sterilized scaler.

To check the anti-microbial effect, plaque sample collected in containerwill be inoculated in Luria Broth for isolation of S. mutans. Grown culturewill be used for serial dilution, plated on chrome agar plates for specificidentification of bacterial growth. The different colour colonies will befurther inoculated in Luria Broth and will be incubated overnight at 37°C forgrowth.  Bacterial isolate will be usedfor genomic DNA extraction, G DNA will be isolated using Genomic DNA extractionkit, followed by 16srdna using universal primers for 16srDNA, PCR samples willbe confirmed on (0.8%) agarose gel electrophoresis. PCR sample will be purifiedusing PCR clean up kit. PCR cleanup product will be sent for sequencing.  Protocol used for PCR amplification will befollowed accordingly. Thermocycle conditions are 94°C 3 minutes, 94°C 45seconds, 50°C 60 seconds, 72°C 90 seconds, Repeat steps 2-4 35 times, 72°C 10minutes, 4°C HOLD.

ForResults – Colony Forming Units (CFU) will be counted.