Antibacterial Effectiveness of Prophylactic Ozone Application in Orthodontic Patients

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ozone and mouth rinse on Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans) in pediatric patients with fixed orthodontic appliances
Methods: The study was conducted on 30 patients aged between 13-18 years who used fixed orthodontic appliances, inserted at least 3 months prior to the start of the study. All study participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria of high levels of S.mutans (at least a score of 2, 10⁵-10⁶ CFU) in saliva. Before any application, selected teeth for plaque sampling were isolated with cotton rolls and dried, and then, samples were carefully taken with a sterile excavator on the sites around the brackets of teeth 11,14, 22, 25, 31, 34, 42 and 45. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1: Gaseous ozone (Ozonytron OZ, MIO International, Munich, Germany), Group 2: Mouth Rinse (Listerine, Johnson & Johnson, NJ), Group 3: Daily oral hygiene regime (negative control). Immediately after ozone and mouth rinse application and after 1 week, plaque and saliva samples were assessed. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon T tests were used for statistical analysis.
Results: After 1 week, S.mutans counts were reduced as compared to baseline values in all groups and these reductions were found to be statistically significant (p<0,05). The Listerine group exhibited a significantly lower S.mutans counts compared with baseline values and other groups (p<0,05).
Conclusions: It can be concluded that the ozone treatment may have an instataneous lethal effect on S.mutans; however, a long-term preventive effect could not be observed. Listerine showed better effects on decreasing the level of S.mutans in saliva and plaque.