PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of maternal dental health education and tooth-brushing instruction on the levels of mutans streptococci in pre-school children. METHODS One hundred and seven children (44 boys and 63 girls) with a mean age of 20.5 months, randomly selected from a community child health clinic within a 2-week period, participated in this study. Medic...

The production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances, mutacins, by mutans streptococci varies among isolates. To find if the degree of mutacin activity of an isolate was related to its transmission between mother and her child, 19 mothers and their 18-month- to 3-year-old children were sampled for their oral mutans streptococci. In addition, the stability of mutacin activity was studied wit...

Dental caries is an important global health concern and Streptococcus mutans has been established as a major cariogenic bacterial species. Reports indicate that a rare sugar, D‑tagatose, is not easily catabolized by pathogenic bacteria. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of D‑tagatose on the growth and biofilm formation of S. mutans GS‑5 were examined. Monitoring S. mutans growth over...

background one of the most important factors in inducing the logarithmic growth of streptococcus mutans, is a diet containing fermentable carbohydrates such as sucrose. objectives: the aim of the current research was to compare the ability of ordinary and probiotic chocolate to induce or inhibit the growth of s. mutans. materials and methods lactobacillus rhamnosus, l. plantarum and l. acidophi...

Streptococcus mutans is one of several members of the oral indigenous biota linked with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC). Because most humans harbor S. mutans, but not all manifest disease, it has been proposed that the strains of S. mutans associated with S-ECC are genetically distinct from those found in caries-free (CF) children. The objective of this study was to identify common DNA fr...

BACKGROUND Caries and periodontal diseases are caused by the biofilm formed by caries- and periodontal disease-related bacteria. Specific biofilms could be formed on different filling materials in oral cavity. Thus, to explore the inhibition effect of restorative filling materials on biofilm formation is of great significance in the treatment of caries and periodontal disease. MATERIAL AND METH...

In vitro antibacterial efficacy of Vicryl plus suture (coated Polyglactin 910 with triclosan) using zone of inibition assays Objectives: This study evaluates the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy, of an absorbable suture coated with triclosan (Vicryl Plus) against two bacteria, potential responsible for the development of oral diseases: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus mutans. Methods: Vi...

The factors regulating the assembly of the three-dimensional structure of Streptococcus mutans biofilms remain obscure. Polyamines are essential in biofilm formation of certain bacteria. Norspermidine, an unusual polyamine, has been a controversial polyamine that can lead to biofilm disassembly. However, the role of norspermidine in S. mutans biofilms remains unknown. Therefore, the present stu...

We have previously identified and characterized the alkyl hydroperoxide reductase of Streptococcus mutans, which consists of two components, Nox-1 and AhpC. Deletion of both nox-1 and ahpC had no effect on the sensitivity of S. mutans to cumene hydroperoxide or H(2)O(2), implying that the existence of another antioxidant system(s) independent of the Nox-1-AhpC system compensates for the deficie...

BACKGROUND Early childhood caries (ECC) is an aggressive condition that can affect teeth of young children. This study aimed to evaluate genotypic diversity and phenotypic traits of S. mutans isolated from dental biofilms of children with different caries status in comparison with caries free (CF) children. METHODS Streptococcus mutans strains were isolated from supragingival biofilm samples ...