Abstract: Objective: To compare the detection rate of oral Streptococcus mutans in caries-active and healthy patients by concentrated rinse sampling, saliva collection, and cotton swab methods. Methods: The samples were collected from 120 patients with cotton swab, saliva collection, and concentrated rinse methods. Streptococcus mutans were cultured in Murashige & Skoog medium, and verified with microscope. The difference in various methods were analyzed by SPSS22.0.Results: The detection rates of three methods were 93.33%, 96.67%, and 91.67% in caries-active people, and 56.57%, 58.33%, and 48.33% in healthy people. Conclusion: There is no significant difference among three methods(P>0.05). Cotton swab sampling method is the representative method in clinical for its simple, reliable and convenient characteristics.

Key words: Sampling method, Streptococcus, mutans Detection rate