title: Dental caries and caries-associated microorganisms in Uruguayan preschool children.
abstract: The prevalence of dental caries was studied in 3-5-year-old Uruguayan children (n = 76) living in 2 areas with different socioeconomic and cultural conditions. More children from the low socioeconomic area of Las Acacias had caries (68%) than children from the middle- to high-class neighborhood of Pocitos (19%). They also had poorer oral hygiene and a significantly higher caries prevalence (P < 0.05) than those from Pocitos. The occurrence of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli was determined in whole unstimulated saliva and compared with that in debris collected with a loop from the dorsum of the tongue. Mutans streptococci were detected in 42% of the children with significant correlations between the salivary levels of the microorganism and caries experience. Lactobacilli were recovered less frequently (18%). The detection of mutans streptococci in the tongue-loop samples was significantly correlated with that in whole saliva.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Odontology, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Angulo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cabanas
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Camporeale
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Emilson
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014059:Tongue / Q000382:microbiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014583:Uruguay / Q000453:epidemiology