Background
Methods
Subjects
Study design
Tongue coating assessment
Tongue coating and dental plaque sampling
DNA extraction and quantification
Quantification of species in biofilms by real-time PCR
Statistical analysis
Results and discussion
Baseline measurements
Tongue cleaning | Average ± SD |
p-value* | |
---|---|---|---|
WTCI | (+) | 5.53 ± 4.53 | 0.651 |
(-) | 5.90 ± 3.59 | ||
Total | 5.72 ± 4.06 | ||
Wet weight of tongue coating (mg) | (+) | 15.4 ± 10.1 | 0.125 |
(-) | 12.0 ± 8.06 | ||
Total | 13.6 ± 9.20 | ||
Wet weight of dental plaque (mg) | (+) | 2.75 ± 7.83 | 0.375 |
(-) | 1.31 ± 1.42 | ||
Total | 2.03 ± 5.63 | ||
Amount of total bacteria in whole tongue coating sample (log pg) | (+) | 4.76 ± 1.18 | 0.296 |
(-) | 4.52 ± 1.15 | ||
Total | 4.64 ± 1.16 | ||
Amount of total bacteria in whole dental plaque sample (log pg) | (+) | 4.47 ± 0.79 | 0.986 |
(-) | 4.47 ± 1.10 | ||
Total | 4.46 ± 0.95 | ||
Amount of F. nucleatum in whole tongue coating sample (log pg) | (+) | 2.19 ± 1.18 | 0.199 |
(-) | 1.94 ± 1.27 | ||
Total | 2.07 ± 1.22 | ||
Amount of F. nucleatum in whole dental plaque sample (log pg) | (+) | 2.07 ± 1.00 | 0.664 |
(-) | 1.98 ± 1.23 | ||
Total | 2.02 ± 1.11 | ||
Amount of total bacteria in 1 mg of tongue coating (log pg/mg) | (+) | 3.68 ± 1.02 | 0.536 |
(-) | 3.56 ± 0.96 | ||
Total | 3.62 ± 0.98 | ||
Amount of total bacteria in 1 mg of dental plaque (log pg/mg) | (+) | 4.51 ± 0.61 | 0.361 |
(-) | 4.44 ± 0.83 | ||
Total | 4.48 ± 0.72 | ||
Amount of F. nucleatum in tongue coating sample (log pg/mg) | (+) | 1.26 ± 0.93 | 0.668 |
(-) | 1.13 ± 0.99 | ||
Total | 1.20 ± 0.96 | ||
Amount of F. nucleatum in dental plaque sample (log pg/mg) | (+) | 2.09 ± 0.97 | 0.343 |
(-) | 1.90 ± 1.06 | ||
Total | 2.00 ± 1.01 |
Change in amounts of total bacteria in tongue coating and dental plaque following tongue cleaning
Change in WTCI score after tongue cleaning
Amounts of F. nucleatum and total bacteria in tongue coating and dental plaque
Overall relationships of volume and bacterial load in tongue coating and dental plaque
Component | |||
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | |
WTCI | .187 | .202 | .759 |
Wet weight of tongue coating (log mg) | -.168 | .122 | .742 |
Amount of total bacteria in tongue coating sample (log pg/mg) | .148 | .860 | .301 |
Amount of F. nucleatum in tongue coating sample (log pg/mg) | .068 | .957 | .046 |
Wet weight of dental plaque (log mg) | .446 | -.236 | .369 |
Amount of total bacteria in dental plaque sample (log pg/mg) | .900 | .078 | -.020 |
Amount of F. nucleatum in dental plaque sample (log pg/mg) | .872 | .260 | -.030 |