Antibacterial Test between Aloe vera and Chlorhexidine Based on the Number of Colony of Streptococcus mutans Atcc 25 175 In Vitro

Streptococcus mutans is a bacterium which has an important role in the process of dental caries. This bacterium is able to ferment sucrose to glucans that serves as a medium for the initial adhesion of bacteria on the teeth and produces acid that plays a role in the occurrence of dental caries. Aloe vera is an herb that has many health benefits, one of which is an antibacterial effect. Antibacterial Effects of Aloe vera works by inhibiting bacterial metabolism and cause the disruption of the cell membrane permeability so that the growth of Streptococcus mutans can be inhibited. Chlorhexidine is a broad spectrum anti-microbial material with the ability to prevent caries that are widely used in dentistry. The research objective was to analyze the difference in the decrease of number of colonies of Streptococcus mutans between Aloe vera and Chlorhexidine in vitro. The study was conducted using pure experimental research on media containing artificial saliva, cultured Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25 175, 20 % sucrose, then Aloe vera and Chlorhexidine were applied. Paired t-test is used for statistical analysis to analyze the decrease in the number of colonies of Streptococcus mutans in the treatment group and Chlorhexidine Aloe vera. Results of t-test showed that there is a difference in decreasing the number of colonies of Streptococcus mutans significantly between Aloe vera and Chlorhexidine with p-value of 0.0399 ( less than0.05). The research concludes that there is a significant difference in the decrease of the number of colonies of Streptococcus mutans in Aloe vera and Chlorhexidine treatment group in vitro.