Culture methods traditionally have been used to isolate and identify bacterial species in clinical specimens. Culture methods are difficult when the specimen is as bacteriologically complex as dental plaque1 and when the organism in question, such as Streptococcus mutans, is present in modest numbers. The fluorescent antibody test (FAT) has been suggested as a potentially simpler method of dete...

background and aims. streptococcus mutans is the main pathogenic agent involved in dental caries, and may be eliminated using mouthwashes. the objective of this study was to compare the effects of fluoride, chlorhexidine, and fluoride-chlorhexidine mouthwashes on salivary s. mutans count after two weeks of use and determine the prevalence of their side effects on the oral mucosa. materials and ...

conclusions the current study indicated that the immunoreactivity of secretory iga might have no direct correlation with the colonization of indigenous flora and rejection of exogenous strains in adults. the relationship of microbes, host and dental caries should be in the light of coevolved microecosystem as a whole, but not caused by one factor alone. results the results showed that naturally...

1. Hamada, S. and Slade, H. D. (1980): Biology, immunology and carinogenisity of Streptococcus mutans. Microbiol. Rev., 44, 331-384. 2. Okahashi, N., Sasakawa, C., Yoshikawa, M., Hamada, M. and Koga, T. (1989): Cloning of a surface protein antigen gene from serotype c StylePtOCOCCuS mutanS. Mol. Microbio1., 3, 221228. 3. Hanada, N. and Kuramitsu, H. K. (1989): isolation and characterization of ...

BACKGROUND Streptococcus mutans forms biofilms as a resistance mechanism against antimicrobial agents in the human oral cavity. We recently showed that human cathelicidin LL-37 exhibits inhibitory effects on biofilm formation of S. mutans through interaction with lipoteichoic acid (LTA), but without antibacterial or biofilm dispersal abilities. (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most ab...

Biofilms formed on tooth surfaces are comprised of mixed microbiota enmeshed in an extracellular matrix. Oral biofilms are constantly exposed to environmental changes, which influence the microbial composition, matrix formation and expression of virulence. Streptococcus mutans and sucrose are key modulators associated with the evolution of virulent-cariogenic biofilms. In this study, we used a ...

AIM To evaluate the effect of fluoride varnish on Streptococcus mutans count in saliva among 12-year-old school children. MATERIALS AND METHODS A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of fluoride varnish on S. mutans count in saliva among 12-year-old school children. A total of 42 school-going children attending schools in Vadodara district, Gujarat, India, were divided into ...

The strictly anaerobic metabolism of sugar in strains of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguis was studied because deep layers of dental plaque are strictly anaerobic. Galactose-grown cells of these streptococcal strains had higher pyruvate formate-lyase activity than did glucose-grown cells. Among these strains, two strains of S. mutans had a significantly higher pyruvate formate-lyas...

Streptococcus mutans has been implicated as the major causative agent of human dental caries. S. mutans binds to saliva-coated tooth surfaces, and previous studies suggested that fimbriae may play a role in the initial bacterial adherence to salivary components. The objectives of this study were to establish the ability of an S. mutans fimbria preparation to bind to saliva-coated surfaces and d...

The structural gene for a glucan-binding protein (GBP) of Streptococcus mutans has been inserted into a bacteriophage lambda vector and expressed in Escherichia coli K12. Lysates of E. coli infected with the recombinant phage contain an antigenic protein of the same size as S. mutans GBP. The GBP synthesized in E. coli can be affinity-purified on immobilized glucan and antiserum raised against ...