{"references": ["1. Watt SA. Inequalities in oral health: a review of the evidence and recommendation for action. Br Dent J. 1999; 187(1):6-12. 2. Silverstone L et al. Dental caries: Aetiology, Pathology and Prevention.1st Edn.; New York : The Macmillan Press Limited 1981:pp:8. 3. Grewal H, Verma M, Kumar A. Prevalence of dental caries and treatment needs amongst the school children of three educational zone of urban Delhi, India. Ind J Dent Res. 2011; 22(4):517-519. 4. Loesche WJ. Role of Streptococcus mutans in human dentaldecay. Microbio1Rev. 1986;50(4):353-380. 5. Parmar N et al. Camellia Sinensis (Black Tea): A Review. Global Journal of Pharmacology. 2012; 6 (2): 52-59. 6. Abdulrahaem R, Garib. Effect of Different Tea in Remineralization of Artificially- Induced Initial Enamel Caries of Human Teeth (Study in Vitro). Tikrit J Dent Scien. 2011;1:19-24. 7. Douglas A et al. Current concept incariology. Dent Clin N Am.2010;54(3): 455-462. 8. Nolte WA. Oral microbiology with basic microbiology andimmunology. 4th Edn.; Mosby. 1982;pp:20326. 9. Pannu P et al. Correlation between the salivary Streptococcus mutans levels and dental caries experience in adult population of Chandigarh, India. Eur J Dent. 2013;7(2):191-195. 10. Pradopo S. The colony number of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus in saliva of dental caries and free caries children. Dent. J. (Maj. Ked. Gigi) 2008; 41(2): 53\u201355 11. Hong X, Hu D. Salivary Streptococcus mutans level: value in caries prediction for 11-12-year-old children. Community Dent Health. 2010;27(4):248-52 12. Sakeenabi B, Hiremath S. Dental caries experience and salivary Streptococcus mutans, lactobacilli scores, salivary flow rate, and salivary buffering capacity among 6-year-old Indian school children. Journal of International Society of Preventive and Community Dentistry. 2011;1(2):45-5135. 13. Balagopal S, Arjunkumar R.Chlorhexidine: The Gold Standard Antiplaque Agent. J. Pharm. Sci & Res. 2013;5(12):270-27444. 14. Chacko S et al.Beneficial effects of black tea: A literature review. Chinese Medicine 2010, 5:13. 15. Steinmann J et al. Anti-infective properties of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a component of", "black tea. British Journal of Pharmacology 2013;168:1059\u20131073 16. Venkateswara B, et al. Black tea extract for periodontal health. Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology. 2011;15(1):18-22. 17. Lin L et al. Quantitative Analysis of Major Constituents in Black Tea with Different Plucking Periods and Their Antioxidant Activity. Molecules 2014;19:9173-9186. 18. Xu X et al. The Tea CatechinEpigallocatechinGallate Suppresses Cariogenic Virulence Factors of Streptococcus mutans. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 2011; 55(3): 1229-1236. 19. Taheer A, Moeen R. Comparison of antibacterial activity of water and ethanol extracts of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze against dental caries and detection of antibacterial components. J Medicinal Plants Res. 2011;5(18): 4504-4510. 20. Awadallaet al. A pilot study of the role of black tea use on oral health. Int J Dent Hyg. 2011;9(2):110-116. 21. Satoa S, Koga T, Inoue M. Isolation and some properties of extracellular dglucosyltransferases and dfructosyltransferases from Streptococcus mutans serotypes c, e, and f. Carbohydrate Res. 1984;134:293- 304. 22. Gloro R et al. Fulminant hepatitis during self-medication with hydroalcoholic extract of black tea. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2005;17(10):1135-1137."]}

Background- Dental caries is one of the most frequent oral health problems. The present study shows the antibacterial effect of black tea extract on salivary Sterptococcus Mutans load. Materials & Methods- The study was conducted on 125 individuals. The differences in the Colony Forming Units and count-scores of S.mutans were analyzed in salivary samples collected from individuals before and after administration of 2% black tea extract mouth-rinse and chlorhexidine mouthwash(CM). Results- There was a statistical difference in mean salivary S. mutans colony count and mean countscore before and after administration of black tea extract mouth-rinse (p = 0.0003) and chlorhexidine mouthwash (p = 0.0002) respectively. Hence, it was found that there is no statistically significant difference in the fall of S.mutans load due to black tea mouth-rinse and chlorhexidine mouthwash. Conclusions- A 2% black tea extract mouth-rinse significantly reduces salivary S.mutans load, irrespective of age and gender. Also, it is an effective natural anti-cariogenic agent with no known implicated side effects.