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Background: Salivary infection due to Streptococci mutans is considered the main microbiological risk factor for the initiation of dental caries. Aim. To evaluate a semi-quantitative method to assess Streptococci mutans salivary infection and compare it with the existing quantitative method. Patient and methods: Saliva samples were obtained from 650 preschool children aged 2 to 6 years old using a TYCSB liquid medium for counting Streptococci mutans. Results were compared with quantitative cultures. Results. There was a 99.3% linear correlation coefficient between both methods. The correlation coefficients with dental caries prevalence were 97% for the semi quantitative method and 90% for the quantitative method, Conclusions: The semi-quantitative method to assess oral infection with Streptococci mutans, is accurate enough to be used in population studies and owl infection prevention programs in …