Comparison of The Antibacterial Activity of Bentonite and Amoksisilin Against Streptococcus Mutans Causes of Caries

Abstract

Streptococcus mutans is a normal flora bacteria in the oral cavity. Streptococcus mutans colonizes the oral cavity during the eruption of the first teeth, which in turn causes the teeth to experience caries. Bentonite is a clay consisting of the mineral smectite, especially montmorillonite. Montmorillonite is a member of smectite with the chemical formula (Al2O3 4 SiO2 x H2O). The high cation exchange capacity and fine particle size can inhibit bacterial growth. This study aims to compare the antibacterial activity of bentonite and amoksisilin against Streptococcus mutans. Materials and research methods divide the bentonite solution into five groups with concentrations of 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 100%, and one group of amoksisilin and one control group. The solution was tested for antibacterial activity by diffusion on blood agar against Streptococcus mutans. The results showed that all bentonite solution groups differed from the amoksisilin group (p 0.05). Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity of the bentonite solution group was no different from the negative control group (p 0.05). The conclusion from this study was that there was a difference in antibacterial activity between the bentonite and amoksisilin groups, where bentonite did not show inhibition of the growth of Streptococcus mutans bacteria