Effect of Different Cleaning Regimes on Biofilm Formation of Acrylic-Based Removable Orthodontic Appliance: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Table 3

Comparisons of bacterial biofilm on polished and unpolished acrylic tiles of three cleaning methods using the independent t-test.

Bacterial strain	Cleaning method	Independent t-test
		Mean difference	df	T	Sig. (2-tailed)
Staphylococci	Lacalut cleaning tablet	−0.21	24	−1.580	0.127
	Brushing with CHX toothpaste	−0.85	13.101	−2.474	0.028
	Combination	−0.21	19.541	−2.262	0.035
Staphylococcus aureus	Lacalut cleaning tablet	−0.43	24	−1.206	0.239
	Brushing with CHX toothpaste	−0.10	20.454	−2.479	0.022
	Combination	−0.74	12.647	−2.477	0.028
Staphylococcus epidermidis	Lacalut cleaning tablet	−0.16	24	−0.341	0.736
	Brushing with CHX toothpaste	−0.69	18.760	−1.624	0.121
	Combination	−0.15	22.366	−0.464	0.647
Streptococci	Lacalut cleaning tablet	−0.30	24	−3.287	0.003
	Brushing with CHX toothpaste	−0.47	24	−2.872	0.025
	Combination	−1.37	12.865	−2.390	0.033
Total anaerobic bacteria	Lacalut cleaning tablet	−0.22	24	−1.843	0.078
	Brushing with CHX toothpaste	−0.19	24	−1.205	0.240
	Combination	−0.22	24	−2.565	0.017

P value <0.05 implies statistically significant difference.