Effect of Carvacrol and Thymol against dental caries in children

In vivo activity of Carvacrol and Thymol in the inhibition of mutans streptococci and caries experience in high-risk caries-free children: a longitudinal study

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN27780232

Enrollment

120

Registered

2018-07-20

Start date

2008-11-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2019-12-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Early childhood caries Oral Health Dental caries

Interventions

120 children were randomly divided into 4 groups based on the application of different formulations: group 1 (20% carvacrol), group 2 (10% carvacrol + 10% thymol), group 3 (20% chlorhexidine) and grou

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged 36–71 months 2. Caries-free children without past caries 3. At a high-risk category for dental caries according to the 2010 guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry 4. Enrolled in schools and preschools in the city of Fortaleza (Brazil)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. History of allergic diseases (asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, skin rash) 2. History of allergies to medications and food 3. Aphthous ulcers or lesions affecting the oral mucosa 4. Taking antibiotics during the study period 5. Parents or legal guardians refused to sign the informed consent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Dental caries assessed by dental examinations performed by a single examiner during a 12-month period. These examinations were carried out before beginning of treatment, and 7, 30, 90, 180 and 360 days after initiation of treatment. In order to minimize the diagnostic bias between groups, a calibration of the examiner was performed, according to criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (1993). A mean Kappa of 0.83 was obtained, that is considered a good or excellent intra-examiner agreement level (Eklund, Moller, Leclerq, 1996).	—

Measure

Time frame

Dental caries assessed by dental examinations performed by a single examiner during a 12-month period. These examinations were carried out before beginning of treatment, and 7, 30, 90, 180 and 360 days after initiation of treatment. In order to minimize the diagnostic bias between groups, a calibration of the examiner was performed, according to criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (1993). A mean Kappa of 0.83 was obtained, that is considered a good or excellent intra-examiner agreement level (Eklund, Moller, Leclerq, 1996).

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Levels of mutans streptococci in saliva. Upon completion of the initial dental examination, a saliva sample was collected from each participant for the first microbiological analysis (baseline (B), before the start of treatment and 5 collections, 7 (D7), 30 (D30), 90 (D90), 180 (D180) and 360 (D360) days after the start of treatment. One hour prior to saliva collection children performed oral hygiene. Stimulated saliva collection was performed by asking the child to chew a piece of paraffin (3x3cm) Parafilm “M”® Laboratory Film (American National Can, Greenwich, CT) for 60 s. Then saliva was collected in the first minute, transferred into sterile tubes Eppendorfs® and transported for further analysis. The medium used for MS culture was mitis salivarius bacitracin agar (MSB) (Difco, Detroit, Michigan, USA) supplemented with 1% potassium tellurite (Vetec Fine chemicals LTDA, Rio de Janeiro), 1% bacitracin (Sigma) and 15% sucrose (Merck) (Gold, Jordan, Van Houte, 1973). For microbiological analysis, saliva was diluted into 1:10 and 1:100 dilutions to allow the counting of MS. A volume of 20 µL of each dilution or pure saliva was cultured in triplicate in MSB agar, being spread using a tip in a Petri plate, that were then incubated in a bacteriological incubator (Biomatic) at 37°C in a microaerophilic environment for 48 h. After this period, MS colonies were counted (Western, Krass, 1978) through visual observation (Koneman, 2001) and converted into CFU/ml of saliva.	—

Measure

Time frame

Levels of mutans streptococci in saliva. Upon completion of the initial dental examination, a saliva sample was collected from each participant for the first microbiological analysis (baseline (B), before the start of treatment and 5 collections, 7 (D7), 30 (D30), 90 (D90), 180 (D180) and 360 (D360) days after the start of treatment. One hour prior to saliva collection children performed oral hygiene. Stimulated saliva collection was performed by asking the child to chew a piece of paraffin (3x3cm) Parafilm “M”® Laboratory Film (American National Can, Greenwich, CT) for 60 s. Then saliva was collected in the first minute, transferred into sterile tubes Eppendorfs® and transported for further analysis. The medium used for MS culture was mitis salivarius bacitracin agar (MSB) (Difco, Detroit, Michigan, USA) supplemented with 1% potassium tellurite (Vetec Fine chemicals LTDA, Rio de Janeiro), 1% bacitracin (Sigma) and 15% sucrose (Merck) (Gold, Jordan, Van Houte, 1973). For microbiological analysis, saliva was diluted into 1:10 and 1:100 dilutions to allow the counting of MS. A volume of 20 µL of each dilution or pure saliva was cultured in triplicate in MSB agar, being spread using a tip in a Petri plate, that were then incubated in a bacteriological incubator (Biomatic) at 37°C in a microaerophilic environment for 48 h. After this period, MS colonies were counted (Western, Krass, 1978) through visual observation (Koneman, 2001) and converted into CFU/ml of saliva.

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Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026