mupirocin and Dental-Plaque

Bifidobacteria are aciduric bacteria that might play a role in the caries process. To test the hypothesis that Bifidobacteria behave as caries-associated organisms, as predicted by the ecological plaque hypothesis, we determined salivary levels of Bifidobacteria and caries-associated organisms for 156 older adults. Salivary levels of Bifidobacteria, mutans streptococci, lactobacilli, and yeasts were correlated with each other (p < 0.001), negatively correlated with salivary flow rate (p < 0.001), and positively correlated with plaque index (p < 0.05). Salivary Bifidobacteria levels were positively associated with the number of filled (p < 0.001) and decayed (p = 0.036) tooth surfaces and negatively associated with number of teeth (p < 0.001) and salivary flow rate (p = 0.049). In regression analyses, caries experience was significantly associated with only salivary Bifidobacteria (p < 0.001) and yeast (p < 0.001) levels and the individual's age (p = 0.021). Bifidobacteria should be regarded as caries-associated organisms whose role in the caries process and as markers of caries risk requires further investigation.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bifidobacterium; Colony Count, Microbial; Culture Media; Dental Caries; Dental Plaque; DMF Index; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mupirocin; Regression Analysis; Saliva; Statistics, Nonparametric

A selective medium containing mupirocin and metronidazole was evaluated for the isolation of Actinomyces spp. from clinical material. The study was a one-year prospective comparison of the method with existing methods, which use nonselective media, at a general hospital and a dental hospital. Significantly more Actinomyces spp. were isolated on the selective medium than on nonselective media from both dental specimens and intrauterine contraceptive devices. However, differentiating between Actinomyces spp. and related nonsporulating gram-positive rods remains a slow and sometimes uncertain process which can introduce lengthy delays in reporting.

Topics: Actinomyces; Actinomycosis; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Bacteriological Techniques; Culture Media; Dental Plaque; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Female; Humans; Intrauterine Devices; Metronidazole; Mouth Diseases; Mupirocin; Prospective Studies