الفهرس 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 122 |  |  |
| | | from | 122 | | |
Abstract
Control of bacterial biofilm on tooth surfaces is essential to the maintenance of oral health, and can be achieved by proper oral hygiene, use of fluoride products, mouth rinse, and regular check-ups with a dentist. Recently, an additional approach is the application of chemical agents with antimicrobial activities on dental surfaces to promote a reduction in biofilm formation.
The investigation of natural products with antimicrobial activity has attracted the attention of many researchers, motivated mainly by the increasing bacterial resistance to traditional antimicrobial agents and the side effects frequently observed after the use.
This triple-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted to investigate the effect of propolis mouthwash in children with fixed space maintainers regarding the quantity of dental plaque and the microbial population.
Forty healthy cooperative children with fixed space maintainers were selected. Their ages ranged from 6-8 years. They were randomly selected from the outpatient clinic of the Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University.
At the first visit, each selected child was given a new toothbrush for use during the study. In addition, instructions were given about the proper method of tooth brushing (roll technique) using a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. Each child was given the allocated mouthwash with its measuring cup. The children were instructed to rinse twice daily for 1 min with 10 mL of the mouthwash after breakfast and before bed for 3 weeks.
Quantitative assessment of supragingival plaque accumulation using plaque index and microbiological laboratory cultivation method of bacterial plaque samples were carried out for each child at the baseline and after 3 weeks.
The result revealed that the absolute bacterial count and log value dropped significantly (P<0.0001) after the use of propolis mouthwash, whereas, in the control group the reduction was not statistically significant. The result also showed that in spite of the significant difference between groups at baseline, the difference diminished following the use of propolis mouthwash for 3 weeks.
The same trend was evident in plaque accumulation, except that the DROP in plaque was significant after intervention showing a significant mean percentage of reduction.