Time of initial acquisition of mutans streptococci by human infants

The aim of this study was to detect and monitor the acquisition of mutans streptococci (MS) in healthy

Brazilian children. Samples of 4 different sites (saliva, tongue dorsum, dental ridges, and dental plaque,

if teeth were present) were collected from 33 edentulous nursery school infants (5.9±1.5 month-old),

using sterilized swabs, bi-monthly for 24 months. Saliva samples from the mothers were collected only

once. After inoculation, and incubation typical morphotype colonies, were isolated and submitted to

amplification by the technique of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for identification. The PCR

method identified 1667 strains as MS. In 29 of the children’s samples, the first positive culture for MS

occurred at 15.3 ± 4.6 months. At the end of the follow-up period, 77% of the children were classified

as colonized and in 33% MS was found as a transient microorganism. A positive correlation was

found between the time of MS acquisition by the infant and the number of erupted teeth (p<0.0001),

and the time of emergence of the first tooth (p=0.0048). After 24 months, there were no dental caries,

and 77% of children remained caries-free. These results indicate that MS colonization in this sample

of low-income pre-school children may begin earlier than suggested by some investigations.

1. Mattos-Graner RO, Rontani RMP, Gavião MBD, Bocatto, HARC. Caries prevalence in 6-36-month-old Brazilian children. Community Dental Health 13: 96-8, 1996.

2. Ramos-Gomez FJ, Weintraub JA, Gansky SA, Hoover CI, Featherstone JD. Bacterial, behavioral, and environmental factors associated with early childhood caries. J Clin Pediatr Dent 26: 165-73., 2002.

3. Tanner AC, Milgrom PM, Kent RJr, Mokeem SA, Page RC, Riedy CA, et al.The microbiota of young children from tooth and tongue samples. J Dent Res 81(1): 53-7, 2002.

4. Hamada S, Slade HD. Biology, immunology and cariogenicity of Streptococcus mutans. Microbiol Rev, 44: 331-84, 1980.

5. Wan AKL, Seow WK, Walsh LJ, Bird P, Tudehope DI, Purdie DM. Association of Streptococcus mutans infection and oral developmental nodules in pre-dentate infants. J Dent Res 80: 1945-8, 2001.

6. Mattos-Graner RO, Zelante F, Line RCSR, Mayer MPA. Association between caries prevalence and clinical, microbio-logical and dietary variables in 1.0 to 2.5-year-old Brazilian children. Caries Res 32: 319-23, 1998.

7. Baehni PC, Guggenheim, B. Potential of diagnostic microbiology for treatment and prognosis of dental caries and periodontal diseases. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med 7: 259-77, 1996.

8. Caufield PW, Cutter GR, Dasanayake AP. Initial acquisition of mutans streptococci by infants: evidence for a discrete window of infectivity. J Dent Res 72: 37-45, 1993.

9. Caufield PW, Dasanayake AP, Li Y, Pan Y, Hsu J, Hardin JM. Natural history of Streptococcus sanguinis in the oral cavity of infants: evidence for a discrete window of infectivity. Infect Immun 68: 4018-23, 2000.

10. Berkowitz S, Jordan H, White G. The early establishment of Streptococcus mutans in the mouths of infants.Arch Oral Biol 20: 171- 4, 1975.

11. Berkowitz R. Etiology of nursing caries: a microbiologic perspective. J Public Health Dent 56: 51-4, 1996.

12. Horowitz SH. Research issues in early childhood caries. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 26 (suppl 1): 67-81, 1998.

13. Kreiborg S, Rasmussen P, Thesleff I. Normal dental and occlusal development. In: Pedodontics – A clinical approach. Koch G, Modéer T, Poulsen S, Rasmussen P. eds. Munksgaard: Copenhagen, p.48, 1991.

14. Milgrom P, Riedy CA, Weinstein P, Tanner ACR, Manibusan L, Bruss J. Dental caries and its relationship to bacterial infection, hypoplasia, diet, and oral hygiene in 6- to 36-month-old children. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 28: 295-306, 2000.

15. Wan Ak, Seow Wk, Purdie DM, Bird PS, Walsh LJ, Tudehope DI. Oral colonization of Streptococcus mutans in six-month-old predentate infants. J Dent Res 80: 2060-5, 2001.

16. Edwardsson S, Mejare B. Streptococcus milleri (Guthof) and Streptococcus mutans in the mouths of infants before and after tooth eruption. Arch Oral Biol 23: 811-4, 1978.

17. Mohan A, Morse DE, O’sullivan DM, Tinanoff N. The relation-ship between bottle usage/content, age, and number of teeth with mutans streptococci colonization in 6-24-month-old children. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 26:12-20, 1998.

18. Karn TA, O’sullivan DM, Tinanoff N. Colonization of mutans streptococci in 8- to 15-month-old children. J Public Health Dent 58: 248–9, 1998.

19. Tedjosasongko U, Kozai K. Initial acquisition and transmission of mutans streptococci in children at day nursery. J Dent Child 69: 284- 8, 2002.

20. Wan AK, Seow WK, Purdie DM, Bird PS, Walsh LJ, Tudehope DI. A longitudinal study of Streptococcus mutans colonization in infants after tooth eruption. J Dent Res. 82: 504-8, 2003.

21. Wright JT, Cutter GR, Dasanayake AP, Stiles HM, Caufield PW. The effect of conventional dental restorative treatment on bac-teria in saliva. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 20: 138-43, 1992.

22. World Health Organization. Individual tooth status and treat-ment need. In: Oral health surveys: Basic Methods, 4 th ed., p.66, 1997.

23. Dasanayake AP, Caufield PW, Cutter GR, Roseman JM, Kohler B. Differences in the detection and enumeration of mutans streptococ-ci due to differences in methods. Archs Oral Biol 40: 345-51, 1995.

24. Gold OC, Jordan HV, Van Houte J. A selective medium for S. mutans. Arch Oral Biol 18: 1356-64, 1973.

25. Emilson CG. Prevalence of Streptococcus mutans with different colonial morphologies in human plaque and saliva. Scand J Dent Res 91: 26–32, 1983.

26. Coykendall AL. Four types of Streptococcus mutans based on their genetic, antigenic and biochemical characteristics. J Gen Microbiol 83: 327– 38, 1974.

27. Oho T, Yamashita Y, Shimazaki Y, Kushiyama M, Koga T. Simple and rapid detection of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus in human saliva by Polymerase Chain Reaction. Oral Microbiol Immunol 15: 258-62, 2000.

28. Welsh J, McClelland DL. Fingerprinting genomes using PCR with arbitrary primers. Nucleic Acids Res 18: 7213-8, 1990.

29. Saarela M, Hannula J, Matto J, Asikainen S, Alaluusua S. Typing of mutans streptococci by arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction. Arch Oral Biol 41: 821-6, 1996.

30. Sambrook J, Fritsch EF, Maniatis T. Molecular cloning: a labora-tory manual. 2nd ed. Cold Spring Harbor Press. New York. 1989.

31. Dasanayake AP, Caufield PW, Cutter GR, Stiles HM. Transmission of mutans streptococci to infants following short term application of an iodine-NaF solution to mothers’ dentition. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 21: 136-42, 1993.

32. Gronröos L, Alaluusua S. Site-specific oral colonization of mutans streptococci detected by arbitrarily primed PCR finger-printing. Caries Res 34: 474-80, 2000.

33. Masuda N, Tsutsumi N, Sobue S, Hamada S. Longitudinal survey of the distribution of various serotypes of Streptococcus mutans in infants. J Clin Microbiol 10: 497-502, 1979.

34. Hirose H, Hirose K, Isogai E, Miura H, Ueda I. Close association between Streptococcus sobrinus in the saliva of young children and smooth-surface caries increment. Caries Res 27: 292-7, 1993.

35. Nie M, Fan M, Bian K. Transmission of mutans streptococci in adults within a Chinese population. Caries Res 36: 161-6, 2002.

36. Matee MI, Mikx FH, Maselle SY, Van Palenstein Helderman WH. Mutans streptococci and lactobacilli in breast-fed children with rampant caries. Caries Res 26: 183-7, 1992.