Inhibition of dental caries in school children by topically applied vancomycin

Abstract

A one-year clinical trial was conducted in which, at the outset, 268 children aged 9–11 years were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. At baseline a clinical and radiographic assessment of dental caries was performed. Thereafter, every morning in school, treated subjects self-applied, for 5 minutes, pre-trimmed plastic trays containing a sponge rubber insert and filled with a 3 per cent vancomycin gel. Participants were monitored every 4–6 weeks for their level of Streptococcus mutans on specific surfaces. After 12 months, the overall caries increment in treated subjects averaged one less DF surface than in the controls (4.42 DFS vs. 3.43 DFS, p = 0.032). The reductions in caries were significant in fissures but not on the smooth or approximal surfaces; also in newly erupting teeth but not in teeth present at baseline.