Table 2.
Intragroup and intergroup comparison of microbial counts (colony-forming units per ml) in various groups
| Groups | Baseline CFUs | 18th month CFUs | Difference | Percentage reduction | Significance t*, P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PrBTB | 107.9±16.0 | 100.7±19.3 | 7.2±27.5 | 7% | 1.18, 0.25 (NS) |
| PoBTB | 108.4±18.5 | 76.9±16.9 | 31.4±21.2 | 29% | 6.61, <0.001 (HS) |
| RPoBTB | 102.9±17.0 | 63.8±12.6 | 39.0±17.1 | 38% | 10.19, <0.001 (HS) |
| ANOVA F** P |
0.63 0.54 (NS) |
25.6<0.001 (HS) | 11.01<0.001 (HS) | - | - |
| Difference between groups*** (P) | |||||
| PrBTB - PoBTB | 0.99 (NS) | <0.001 (HS) | <0.05 (S) | - | - |
| PrBTB - RPoBTB | 0.63 (NS) | <0.001 (HS) | <0.001 (HS) | - | - |
| PoBTB - RPoBTB | 0.57 (NS) | <0.05 (S) | 0.53 (NS) | - | - |
*Intragroup comparison - paired t-test, **Intergroup comparison - one-way ANOVA, ***Post-hoc Tukey’s test, P≤0.05 statistically significant. PrBTB: Prebreakfast tooth brushing group, PoBTB: Postbreakfast tooth brushing group, RPoBTB: Prebreakfast rinsing followed by postbreakfast tooth brushing group, CFU: Colony-forming unit, S: Significant, NS: Not significant, HS: Highly significant, ANOVA: Analysis of variants