title: The relationship between caries activity and the status of dental caries--application of the Dentocult SM method.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the relationship between caries activity and the status of dental caries in preschool children using a caries activity test (CAT).
  
  
  METHODS
  The status of primary tooth caries in 229 children ages 3 to 5 was examined. Caries incidence, DFT, and caries severity index (CSI) were calculated. Based on the quantity of Streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity detected with Dentocult SM, a caries activity test, four grades of caries activity were classified: Grade 0 (< 10(4) colony-forming units/mL), Grade I (10(4)-10(5) CFU/mL), Grade II (10(5)-10(6) CFU/mL), and Grade III (> 10(6) CFU/mL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that 79.48% children had Grade I or higher caries severity. Significant differences of caries activity were found among different grades, which were highly correlated with caries incidence, DFT, and CSI (r = 0.22216, 0.31212, and 0.32276, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As a CAT, Dentocult SM is a reliable method for measuring the status of dental caries in preschool children. It is also a valuable tool in the prevention and treatment of dental caries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics, School of Stomatology, Shanghai Tiedao University (STU), Zhabei District, PR China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yakushiji
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Machida
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003732:Dental Caries Activity Tests; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification