title: In vivo dental plaque-forming ability and cariogenicity of the bacterium Streptococcus bovis in gnotobiotic rats.
abstract: Germ-free Fisher rats, fed on a high sucrose diet, were monoinfected with Streptococcus bovis strains. High levels of fissure caries were formed by three strains; one strain produced moderate levels; another produced only very low levels. No strain could produce approximal or buccal/lingual lesions. All strains could colonize the fissures of teeth in the lower jaw, as shown by scanning electron microscopy. The most cariogenic strains were associated with caries scores similar to those of Strep. salivarius and members of the mutants streptococci.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Structural Biology, Medical School, University of Manchester, England.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Willcox
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Drucker
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000382:microbiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D051381:Rats; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000472:pathogenicity*