Abstract
Dental plaques are notorious and lead to dental caries responsible for dental decay. Streptococci are the leading microorganisms associated with dental plaques. These are Gram-positive, normal microbial flora, non-motile, non-spore forming, and facultative anaerobes. These include Alpha, Beta, and Gamma hemolytic species. Streptococcus sp. produces a high amount of lactic acid through the fermentation of sugars, causes lowering of the pH leading to the plaque formation around teeth, and serves as a biofilm. Microbial biofilm provides certain attachment sites for growth and colonization of other bacteria, and also causes resistance to the antimicrobial agents. These Streptococci can be transmitted to the infants through parents or caretakers' kiss. This mode of transmission is the key role for the contribution of S. mutans in dental caries. In Pakistan, a national survey was conducted in 1992 on tooth decay, which showed that two teeth per person were decayed, missing, or filled, thus becomes an alarming situation. Minimal knowledge related to tooth decay is observed in the clinical settings; however, no similar studies have been carried out in Pakistan.
Highlights
The oral cavity is the initial portion of the Gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and it includes several features such as; adhesion ligands, pH, temperature, and redox potential, which makes the oral cavity a distinct habitat for the oral microflora
A recent study of MatsumotoNakano, (2018) reported that Streptococci supersedes all other bacteria in terms of causing dental caries as they produce high amounts of lactic acid through fermentation of sugars, and they resist the effect of low pH resulting in plaque formation around teeth
In Pakistan, a national survey was conducted in 1992 on tooth decay which showed that two teeth per person were decayed, missing or filled that was an alarming situation
Summary
The oral cavity is the initial portion of the Gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and it includes several features such as; adhesion ligands, pH, temperature, and redox potential, which makes the oral cavity a distinct habitat for the oral microflora. The first step of the establishment of bacteria as a diverse microbial community is the attachments of these bacteria to oral linings (Hooper et al, 2011) This is followed by attachment of similar bacterial species that afterwards adapt the adjacent conditions, and make them favorable for colonization by other microbes as well. A recent study of MatsumotoNakano, (2018) reported that Streptococci supersedes all other bacteria in terms of causing dental caries as they produce high amounts of lactic acid through fermentation of sugars, and they resist the effect of low pH resulting in plaque formation around teeth. A recent study conducted by Banas and Drake, (2018) highlighted that the process of development of dental plaque mainly takes place in three steps: adhesion of initial bacterial colonizers to the teeth surface, production of extracellular polysaccharides by these colonizers, multiplication and maturation of the other bacteria on the teeth surface. Talking about S. mitis and S. mutans, these Streptococci develop resistance against the prescribed antibiotics, through enzymatic inactivation and target site modifications, as reported by Lin et al, (2018)
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