Table 3.

Logarithm of saliva biofilm CFU/mL after treatment with different procedures (control compared with Ar gas or Ar plasma) and different agents (NaCl, H₂O₂, and EDTA) in changed order (first plasma then agent treatment).

Agent	Procedure
	Control	Ar gas	Ar plasma
NaCl control	7.17 ± 0.48   N = 21	6.59 ± 0.48**   N = 15	5.82 ± 0.52∗∗,#   N = 8
H2O2	6.17 ± 0.80*   N = 14	5.62 ± 0.86*   N = 15	4.59 ± 0.77∗,∗∗,#   N = 11
EDTA	5.92 ± 0.37*   N = 8	6.25 ± 0.43**   N = 14	4.51 ± 0.82∗,∗∗,#   N = 16

Data are presented as mean lg (CFU/mL + 1) ± SD.

Ar: argon; CHX: 0.1% chlorhexidine; OCT: 0.1% octenidine; PHMB: 0.1% polyhexanide; NaOCl: 0.6% sodium hypochlorite; H₂O₂: 1.5% hydrogen peroxide; EDTA: 20% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

*P < 0.05 versus NaCl control (within columns); **P < 0.05 versus control procedure (within rows); ^# P < 0.05 comparing Ar plasma versus Ar gas (within rows), two-sided Mann-Whitney U test, and reduction in saliva CFU/mL. P values were Bonferroni corrected.