Intracellular microbial polysaccharide production and dental caries in a Guatemalan Indian village

Abstract

The ability of the human oral flora to form intracellular polysaccharide appears to vary with caries activity and dietary carbohydrate. Results reported here suggest similar findings in a Guatemalan Mayan village subsisting on a high starch, low sucrose, low protein diet. Seventy-two village, thirty-five Boston, and thirty-one Guatemala City children were studied. The following determinations were made under field conditions for each child: DMF and DMS surface examination, collection and nitrogen analysis of all tooth surface debris and high dilution plating on a 2.0% glucose medium. A statistical relationship between active caries and microbial polysaccharide formation was found in the village. The low caries group had 2.1 ± 0.5% and the high caries group 9.0 ± 2.1 % polysaccharide positive colonies. Dietary sucrose was implicated as a determinant of microbial polysaccharide formation. The high sucrose consuming Guatemala City children had a significantly higher percentage of microbial intracellular polysaccharide forming colonies than did the village children.