Recovery of specific "caries-inducing" streptococci from carious lesions in the teeth of children.
About: This article is published in Archives of Oral Biology.The article was published on 1970-05-01. It has received 128 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Dental plaque.
Citations
More filters
2,598 citations
1,801 citations
TL;DR: Molecular/genetic studies of implicated bacteria isolated from humans, randomized-blinded-interventional, and longitudinal studies indicate that mutans streptococci are spread vertically among humans, mostly from mothers to their children, and Implications of these conclusions are briefly discussed.
Abstract: A systematic literature review from 1966 to 2000 revealed 2,730 English-language publications on the role of bacteria in human primary dental caries in vivo. The most pertinent 313 papers were analyzed in evidence tables accessible online (http://www.nidcr.nih.gov). The search targeted all bacterial types implicated previously in caries and asked two questions. First, what is the association of specific bacteria with tooth decay and can causation be attributed to any of those bacteria? Retrieved studies were categorized as randomized-blinded-interventional, longitudinal, case-control, and cross-sectional and were weighted in descending order in terms of significance. Although many studies, due to ethical requirements, had confounding variables, they still indicate strongly: 1) the central role of the mutans streptococci in initiation of caries of smooth surfaces and fissures of crowns of teeth and suggests their potent role in induction of root surface caries; and 2) that lactobacilli are implicated as important contributory bacteria in tooth decay, but their role in induction of lesions is not well supported. Second, what is the source of infection by cariogenic bacteria? Molecular/genetic studies of implicated bacteria isolated from humans, randomized-blinded-interventional, and longitudinal studies indicate that mutans streptococci are spread vertically among humans, mostly from mothers to their children. Implications of these conclusions are briefly discussed. The most significant problems of literature interpretation include the benefits/shortcomings of salivary and plaque monitoring of the flora, the role of sugar(s) in decay as it influences the flora, and modeling strategies to predict lesion score increments as distinct from determination of the etiological role of specific bacteria. Future directions for microbiological clinical caries research are suggested, and the use of the term "caries" to describe the disease, not its lesions, is urged.
543 citations
Cites background from "Recovery of specific "caries-induci..."
...October 2001 ■ Journal of Dental Education 1029 Mutans streptococci colonize the host only after the first teeth erupt, and their preferential colonization site is the teeth(1,2); they are highly localized on the surfaces of the teeth, and their abundance in the plaque is highest over initial lesions(3,4); their level of colonization within the plaque is increased by sucrose consumption(5,6); they synthesize certain macro-molecules from sucrose that foster their attachment to the teeth(7,8); they are rapid producers of acid from simple carbohydrates, including sucrose, and are tolerant to low pH(9,10); and they are essentially always recovered on cultivation of initial and established carious lesion sites.(11-13) Interest in them grew after the demonstration of their potent induction and progression of carious lesions in a variety of experimental animals, including mono-infected gnotobiotes....
[...]
TL;DR: The association of Streptococcus mutans with human dental decay was investigated by using several types of samples and showed a significant association between plaque levels of S. mutans and caries.
Abstract: The association of Streptococcus mutans with human dental decay was investigated by using several types of samples: (i) paraffin-stimulated saliva samples taken from children with from 0 to 15 decayed teeth; (ii) pooled occlusal and approximal plaque taken from children with no decayed or filled teeth, or from children with rampant caries of 10 or more teeth; (iii) plaque removed from single occlusal fissures that were either carious or noncarious. The results showed a significant association between plaque levels of S. mutans and caries. The strongest association, P < 0.0001, was found when plaque was removed from single occlusal fissures. Seventy-one percent of the carious fissures had S. mutans accounting for more than 10% of the viable flora, whereas 70% of the fissures that were caries free had no detectable S. mutans. Sixty-five percent of the pooled plaque samples from the children with rampant caries had S. mutans accounting for more than 10% of the viable flora, whereas 40% of the pooled samples from children that were caries free had no detectable S. mutans. Saliva samples tended to have low levels of S. mutans and were equivocal in demonstrating a relationship between S. mutans and caries.
348 citations
255 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: This study confirmed and extended the basic observations of Orland et al.,1 and used a different cariogenic diet and a single infecting organism to study dental caries in gnotobiotic rats infected with combinations of an enterococcus and a proteolytic bacillus.
Abstract: Dental caries has been one of the most widely studied diseases of mankind, but it was not until 1954 that Orland, Blayney, Harrison, Reyniers, Trexler, Wagner, Gordon, and Luckey' using germ-free rats maintained on a cariogenic diet provided unequivocal evidence that experimental caries does not occur in the absence of micro-organisms. In carefully controlled experiments these workers demonstrated that, whereas conventional rats in a normal environment developed extensive caries, germ-free rats maintained on the same cariogenic diet remained caries-free. Shortly afterward Orland, Blayney, Harrison, Reyniers, Trexler, Ervin, Gordon, and Wagner2 reported the production of dental caries in gnotobiotic* rats infected with combinations of an enterococcus and a proteolytic bacillus or an enterococcus and an anaerobic pleomorphic bacterium. In the present study we have confirmed and extended the basic observations of Orland et al.,1 2 using a different cariogenic diet and a single infecting organism.
227 citations
TL;DR: In selected groups a clearcut correlation was observed between caries activity and the number of “caries-inducing” streptococci.
162 citations
TL;DR: Preliminary studies have confirmed the usefulness of this method for the detection and enumeration of these caries-inducing streptococci in various human populations.
114 citations
TL;DR: A difference in dental caries experience between Caucasian and Negro children was investigated in relation to differences in recoveries of specific "caries-inducing" and extracellular polysaccharide-producing streptococci from samples of dental plaque.
Abstract: A difference in dental caries experience between Caucasian and Negro children was investigated in relation to differences in recoveries of specific "caries-inducing" and extracellular polysaccharide-producing streptococci from samples of dental plaque; acidogenic potential of dental plaque; and the ingestion of sweet foods either with or in between regular meals.
16 citations