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Nguyen M, Dinis M, Lux R, Shi W, Tran NC. Correlation between Streptococcus mutans levels in dental plaque and saliva of children. J Oral Sci 2022; 64:290-293. [PMID: 36104181 DOI: 10.2334/josnusd.22-0177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study was designed to compare the levels of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) in saliva with those in occlusal plaque on posterior teeth at different stages of dentition, and to explore the correlation with caries experience to determine the most suitable source of S. mutans for research. METHODS Samples of saliva and occlusal plaque were collected from 83 patients (aged 3-17 years) over three months. S. mutans levels were determined by culture-based selective plating, morphological identification, and S.mutans-specific monoclonal antibody labeling. RESULTS The mean age of the participants was 8.8 (±3.7) years, and 74.7% of them were Hispanic. Mean caries experience for children with primary, mixed, and permanent dentition was 5.2 (±4.7), 4.0 (±3.3), and 0.8 (±1.3), respectively. Children with primary and mixed dentition had a higher caries experience than children with permanent dentition (P < 0.01), despite having similar S. mutans levels and total bacteria. A positive correlation was observed between S. mutans levels in plaque and those in saliva, but not between S. mutans levels and caries experience. It was noteworthy that plaque samples harbored higher S. mutans levels (>105 CFU/mL) than saliva samples. CONCLUSION Both plaque and saliva samples are useful sources for S. mutans isolation. S. mutans levels from both sources were not significantly correlated with caries experience, but occlusal plaque had greater sensitivity for quantification of high S. mutans levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Nguyen
- Section of Pediatric Dentistry, Division of Preventive and Restorative Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Márcia Dinis
- Section of Pediatric Dentistry, Division of Preventive and Restorative Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Renate Lux
- Section of Biosystems and Function, Division of Oral and Systematic Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles
| | | | - Nini C Tran
- Section of Pediatric Dentistry, Division of Preventive and Restorative Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles
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Dinis M, Agnello M, Cen L, Shokeen B, He X, Shi W, Wong DTW, Lux R, Tran NC. Oral Microbiome: Streptococcus mutans/Caries Concordant-Discordant Children. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:782825. [PMID: 35250921 PMCID: PMC8891984 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.782825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Dental caries remains the most common chronic disease in children, and the respective etiology is not fully understood. Though Streptococcus mutans is an important factor in the initiation and progression of caries, its presence is not always associated with the disease. The existence of caries discordant populations, in which S. mutans counts do not correlate with caries experience, poses a challenging problem. This study explored the possible correlation of S. mutans and other microorganism levels on caries-associated ecology of caries-concordant and discordant populations. A total of forty-seven children were analyzed in this study and stratified into four clinical groups based on their S. mutans levels in saliva (HS/LS: High/low S. mutans) and caries experience. Streptococcus mutans levels were determined by culture-based selective plating. The salivary microbiome of caries concordant and discordant populations was investigated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and downstream bioinformatics analysis. The salivary microbial communities significantly clustered based on S. mutans levels and independent of their caries experience. In addition to S. mutans levels, significant differences in the abundance of other species were observed between HS and LS groups. Interestingly, disease-associated species such as Veillonella dispar, Streptococcus spp., and Prevotella spp. were significantly increased in HS groups and may contribute, in combination with S. mutans, to the caries progression. Furthermore, health-associated species exhibited higher abundance in the LS groups, such as Veillonella rogosae, Haemophilus sp., and Alloprevotella spp. but their possible contribution to the caries process remains to be elucidated. This study provides evidence that S. mutans may play a role in shaping the salivary microbial community. Our results highlight that future caries research should consider additional species as health/disease microbial markers in conjunction with S. mutans to improve diagnosis and caries management of the caries-discordant population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Márcia Dinis
- Section of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Melissa Agnello
- Section of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- M2Biome LLC, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Lujia Cen
- Microbiology, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Bhumika Shokeen
- Section of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Xuesong He
- Microbiology, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Wenyuan Shi
- Microbiology, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - David T. W. Wong
- Center for Oral/Head and Neck Oncology Research, Laboratory of Salivary Diagnostics, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Renate Lux
- Section of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Nini Chaichanasakul Tran
- Section of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Nini Chaichanasakul Tran,
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