title: Caries-risk profile variations after short-term use of 5000 ppm fluoride toothpaste.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the caries risk following 6 weeks' use of 5000 ppm F toothpaste using 'Cariogram' software.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 34 participants, 17 mothers and their teenage children, were enrolled in a 6-week clinical trial in which they were given 5000 ppm F toothpaste. They were followed consecutively for 6 weeks with visits that were 2 weeks apart (four in total). A clinical examination was done at baseline and salivary chair-side tests to record the buffer capacity and mutans streptococci (MS) and lactobacilli (LB) counts were performed at each visit. Based on these data, seven caries-related variables were collected and inserted into the Cariogram software to calculate the actual chance of avoiding caries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The use of 5000 ppm F toothpaste resulted in a statistically significant modification of the caries-risk profile, increasing the actual chance of avoiding caries in the future among the mothers and teenagers at each visit following baseline (p < 0.01). The changes essentially related to the salivary parameters (buffer capacity, MS and LB counts). A statistically significant linear trend was observed for MS counts (p < 0.01) and the number of subjects with a salivary concentration of MS < 10(3) increased at each visit. The same trend was also observed for LB and buffer capacity scores (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The short-term use of 5000 ppm F toothpaste is able to reduce the caries risk, which can be clearly demonstrated using 'Cariogram' software.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cariology, Institute of Odontology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Alaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mannaa
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campus
authors.forename: Anette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlén
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lingström
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D005459:Fluorides