title: DMFT index assessment, plaque pH, and microbiological analysis in children with special health care needs, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the DMFT index of children with Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) in Navi Mumbai. To correlate the DMFT index with Streptococcus mutans count in the supragingival bacterial biofilm and with plaque pH.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dental examination of 158 patients aged 5-18 years was conducted to determine the DMFT/dmft index. Supragingival plaque samples were collected from the buccal surfaces of all teeth. The samples were inoculated in mitis salivarius bacitracin agar medium and incubated at 37°C for 48 h. Supragingival plaque was collected from interproximal sites of the molar area (preferably mandibular) for conducting plaque pH test. Chi-square test and Pearson's correlation were used to find the significance of the study parameters on categorical scale between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean DMFT recorded was 4.90 ± 4.63 and the mean dmft recorded was 1.77 ± 3.14. Mean number of S. mutans colony-forming units found was 2.961 × 10(4). Mean plaque pH recorded was 6.2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No statistically significant correlation was found between the DMFT index with the number of S. mutans and plaque pH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Farhin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Katge
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Bhavesh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rusawat
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Vananchal Dental College and Hospital, Garhwa, Jharkhand, India.
authors.forename: Abhinav
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shitoot
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Manohar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poojari
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Thejokrishna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pammi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Terna Dental College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Devendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patil
keywords: DMFT/dmft; Streptococcus mutans; plaque pH