Table 5: The mean counts of total microorganisms, streptococci, and Candida in saliva and tongue coating before and after resumption of oral ingestion.

Counts Saliva Tongue coating
Before
(CFU/ml)
After
(CFU/ml)
P value Before
(CFU/ml)
After
(CFU/ml)
P value
Total microorganisms 3.9×107 6.1×107 0.89 1.2×108 6.4×108 0.23
Streptococci 1.8×107 6.5×107 0.33 1.9×107 3.0×108 0.03 *
Candida 4.5×103 2.6×102 0.54 5.8×102 6.0×102 0.97

Asterisk (*) indicates significant difference (Wilcoxon signed-rank test; P<0.05)