Microbiology of Caries Flashcards
What are the four key factors involved in caries progression?
what is the cycle they interact in?
Saliva, Diet, Microbiota, and Tooth.
These factors interact in a cycle of: Adhesion → Survival & growth → Biofilm formation → Complex plaque → Acid → Caries
What are the key characteristics that make Streptococcus mutans considered an “arch villain” in caries?
- Glycolytic systems
- EPS/sucrose metabolism
- Attachment mechanisms (GTF, Ag I/II)
- Greater acidogenicity/aciduricity compared to competitor species
- Ecological competitiveness at low pH
- Specific genomic characteristics
- Clear link between S. mutans presence and caries
- Mutans strep proportions linked to high sugar diet
To make a pathogen definitive to a disease:
kohs postules 4
- must be present in every case of the disease.
- You must be able to isolate it from the diseased host and grow it in pure culture
- The disease must be reproduced when a pure culture is introduced into a susceptible host
- The microbe must be recovered from an experimentally infected host
What makes carbohydrates besides sucrose cariogenic?
Cooked starches (like crisps and biscuits) can be cariogenic
“Sticky in the hand = sticky in the mouth” principle
Food retentivity is crucial
Micro-analytical methods provide supporting evidence
Some starches can yield prolonged glucose challenge leading to lactic acid production
What are examples of cariogenic bacteria?
- Streptococcus Mutans
- Lactobacillus
- Actinomyces
