title: Microbial community succession on developing lesions on human enamel.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dental caries is one of the most common diseases in the world. However, our understanding of how the microbial community composition changes in vivo as caries develops is lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  An in vivo model was used in a longitudinal cohort study to investigate shifts in the microbial community composition associated with the development of enamel caries.
  
  
  METHODS
  White spot lesions were generated in vivo on human teeth predetermined to be extracted for orthodontic reasons. The bacterial microbiota on sound enamel and on developing carious lesions were identified using the Human Oral Microbe Identification Microarray (HOMIM), which permits the detection of about 300 of the approximate 600 predominant bacterial species in the oral cavity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After only seven weeks, 75% of targeted teeth developed white spot lesions (8 individuals, 16 teeth). The microbial community composition of the plaque over white spot lesions differed significantly as compared to sound enamel. Twenty-five bacterial taxa, including Streptococcusmutans, Atopobiumparvulum, Dialisterinvisus, and species of Prevotella and Scardovia, were significantly associated with initial enamel lesions. In contrast, 14 bacterial taxa, including species of Fusobacterium, Campylobacter, Kingella, and Capnocytophaga, were significantly associated with sound enamel.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The bacterial community composition associated with the progression of enamel lesions is specific and much more complex than previously believed. This investigation represents one of the first longitudinally-derived studies for caries progression and supports microbial data from previous cross-sectional studies on the development of the disease. Thus, the in vivo experiments of generating lesions on teeth destined for extraction in conjunction with HOMIM analyses represent a valid model to study succession of supragingival microbial communities associated with caries development and to study efficacy of prophylactic and restorative treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Torlakovic
authors.forename: Vanja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Klepac-Ceraj
authors.forename: Bjørn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ogaard
authors.forename: Sean L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.forename: Bruce J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Paster
authors.forename: Ingar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Olsen