title: Isolation of acid producing sorbitol-adapted bacteria from dental plaque using selective agar media.
abstract: Acidogenic bacteria metabolizing sorbitol were isolated and identified from dental plaque of twenty nine volunteers, claiming to be users (sixteen) and non-users (thirteen) of sorbitol-containing chewing gum and candy. Sixty bacterial strains were isolated, using improved selective agar media. The taxonomy of twenty strains, all Gram-positive cocci, was determined employing a customized BBL MinitekR system and other biochemical reactions. The majority of these strains represented Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus acidominimus. Although sorbitol-metabolizing bacteria were found in plaque specimens of most persons tested, a larger number of acidogenic sorbitol degrading bacteria was detected in the plaque of the volunteer group claiming to use sorbitol-containing sweets. Bacteriological results indicate that frequent consumption of sorbitol-containing products will lead to a shift in oral ecology, numerically favouring sorbitol-metabolizing bacteria. These sorbitol adapted bacteria appear to be as acidogenic as Streptococcus mutans in the presence of ordinary sugars.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, New York University Dental Center, New York 10010.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Linke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000332:Aerobiosis; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D003470:Culture Media; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000378:metabolism*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D013012:Sorbitol