Table 3.

Comparative evaluation of mean Streptococcus mutans count expressed as 10³ CFU/mL of dental plaque between two groups

Group	Total colony count of S. mutans (mean ± SD)			P value intragroup
	0th day	30th day	90th day	0–30 day	0–90 day	30–90 day
Group A (neem gel)	27.30 ± 5.50	23.63 ± 5.23	19.13 ± 4.71	0.020*	<0.001**	0.003*
Group B (CHX gel)	26.33 ± 4.75	21.76 ± 4.51	17.36 ± 4.28	0.001*	<0.001**	0.001*
P value intergroup comparison	0.593	0.509	0.618	–	–	–

S. mutans = Streptococcus mutans, SD = standard deviation, CHX = chlorhexidine

*P < 0.05––statistically significant

**P < 0.001––statistically highly significant