Abstrakt

Changes in the oral environment after tooth brushing and oral gargling

Da-Young Kwak, Na-Yeon Kim, Hye-Jin Kim, Seung-Yeon Yang, Ji-Eun Yoon, In-A Hyun, Seoul-Hee Nam

To motivate the public to maintain proper oral hygiene by showing the differences in the number of oral bacteria present, the amount of dental plaque, and the pH acidity before and after tooth brushing and oral gargling. A study targeting a total of 40 students in Kangwon University whose average age was the early 20s was conducted. Ten subjects each were assigned to groups A (gargling with water), B (oral gargling), C (tooth brushing), and D (tooth brushing and oral gargling). The differences in the number of oral bacteria present the amount of dental plaque and the pH acidity before and after tooth brushing and oral gargling were then compared. In the case of group D, the pH acidity increased the most and the oral environment became alkaline, and the number of oral bacteria decreased. The PHP index also decreased, and as such, the amount of dental plaque was greatly reduced. The study results show that there is a greater dental caries prevention effect when both tooth brushing and oral gargling are done than when only either of the two is done.