Study of Prevalence and Sensitivity Pattern of Dental Plaque Bacteria against Antibiotics and Pomegranate

Dental plaque, biofilms of microorganisms on tooth surface, plays an important role in the development of caries and periodontal disease. Our aim was to check the prevalence of bacteria in dental plaque and to test in vitro antibacterial activity of antibiotics and pomrgranate extracts against dental plaque bacteria. Doxycycline and clindamycin showed highest range of antibacterial activity against the dental plaque bacteria. Ethanolic extract of pomegranate seeds was compared with petroleum ether seed extract. Both extract of Punica granatum had equal antibacterial activity except Staphylococcus sp. We recommend more studies to demonstrate practical approaches of using natural materials on the oral biofilms. INTRODUCTION: The oral cavity is the breeding ground to a wide range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. This dynamic micro flora changes with respect to age, hormonal status, diet and health status of an individual. Aas et al 1 has found more than 700 bacterial species from healthy oral cavity. Some of these bacteria show specificity as to individual subjects, others are specific to particular sites within the oral cavity. Oral biofilms harbouring pathogenic bacteria are among the major virulence factors associated with dental diseases such as caries and periodontitis 2, . Essentially, all oral bacteria possess surface molecules that foster some type of cell-to-cell interaction. Only a few specialized organisms, primarily streptococci are able to adhere to oral surfaces such as the mucosa and tooth structure . Mutans streptococci can colonize the tooth surface and initiate plaque formation by their ability to synthesize extracellular polysaccharides from sucrose, using glucosyltransferase 6, . This sucrose dependent adherence and accumulation of cariogenic streptococci is critical to the development of pathogenic plaque. Streptococcus mutans survives in an extremely diverse, high cell density biofilm on the tooth surface. These bacteria are strongly associated with caries formation . All Streptococcus mutans serotypes such as Streptococcus sobrinus (serotypes d, g and h) have been shown to have significant potential to cause caries, but because of their significant genetic and biochemical differences, they should not be referred as simply as the single species S. mutans. S. mutans and lactobacilli are acidogenic and acid uric bacteria and seem to be the primary organisms associated with caries in humans. Correspondence to Author: