A new selective medium for Streptococcus mutans and the distribution of S. mutans and S. sobrinus and their serotypes in dental plaque.
A new selective medium (MS-MUT) was developed for the isolation of Streptococcus mutans from clinical specimens. The average growth recovery of S. mutans on MS-MUT medium was 72.4% of that on MS medium. Growth of Streptococcus sobrinus was significantly inhibited on the medium with an average recovery of 0.034%. In 103 subjects, S. MUTANS was detected at 58.3, 75.0 and 95.7% in the dental plaque of caries-free (CF), caries-inactive (CI) and caries-active (CA) subjects, respectively. S. sobrinus was detected in 8.3, 13.6 and 38.3% of CF, CI and CA subjects, respectively. S. sobrinus alone was detected in only 4.3% of CA subjects. The subjects in whom neither S. mutans nor S. sobrinus were detected were 41.6% in CF and 25.0% in CI. The most predominant serotype was C with a 67% detection rate. S. sobrinus, serotypes D or G were usually found together with S. mutans.
Department of Microbiology, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Chiba, Japan. masahira@mascat.nihon-u.ac.jp
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M
Hirasawa
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Takada
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000382:microbiology; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D012703:Serotyping; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016986:Streptococcus sobrinus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification
D003470:Culture Media