Fig. 3

Live/dead staining analysis of S. mutans initial adhesion to HA discs with different coatings. HA discs were divided into four groups: salivary pellicle-coated HA (negative control), salivary pellicle-coated HA modified by heat-inactivated 2.5% CPP (heat-inactivated CPP), or 2.5% CPP (CPP), or 2.5% CPP supplemented with 900 ppm fluoride (CPP + F). a Representative CLSM images at 30 min and 2 h of incubation. b Ratio (%) of the area occupied by total fluorescence (total S. mutans) to the whole area. c Proportion (%) of red fluorescence (dead S. mutans) to total fluorescence (total S. mutans). Data were expressed as the mean ± SD. ^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01, ^***p < 0.001, ^****p < 0.0001