title: Can insoluble polysaccharide concentration in dental plaque, sugar exposure and cariogenic microorganisms predict early childhood caries? A follow-up study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Insoluble polysaccharide (IP) has been associated with caries prevalence in young children. However, the power of IP to predict ECC needs to be demonstrated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationships between early childhood caries (ECC) and extracellular insoluble polysaccharides (IP) in dental plaque, sugar exposure and cariogenic microorganisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Visible plaque on maxillary incisors was recorded, followed by caries diagnosis in 65 preschoolers (3-4 years) at baseline and after 1 year. Plaque was collected for mutans streptococci (MS), total microorganism (TM) and lactobacilli (LB) enumerations in selective media, as well as for IP analysis, which was later assessed by colorimetry. Sugar/sucrose exposure was assessed by a diet chart.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Positive correlations were found among the prevalence of caries and MS, TM, LB, solid sucrose and visible dental plaque. Additionally, children with IP concentrations in dental plaque higher than 2.36 μg/mg (odds ratio-OR=6.8), with visible plaque on maxillary incisors (OR=4.3), harbouring LB (OR=13) and exposed to solid sugar more than twice/day (OR=5) showed higher risk of developing caries (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extracellular insoluble polysaccharides, solid sugar/sucrose, visible dental plaque and cariogenic microorganisms could predict caries development, partially explaining the ECC pattern.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Sao Francisco University Dental School, Bragança Paulista, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Parisotto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stipp
authors.affiliation: Department of Operative Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: L K A
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Mattos-Graner
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Brazil. Electronic address: nobre@fop.unicamp.br.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nobre-Dos-Santos
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D011134:Polysaccharides
keywords: Caries prediction; Dental plaque; Microorganism; Sugar exposure