Effect of an alcoholic diet on dental caries and on Streptococcus of the mutans group: study in rats

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of an alcohol diet on Streptococcus of the mutans group and on dental caries in the oral cavity of rats. Forty animals were divided into 3 groups according to the following liquid diets: 20% ethanol solution (Alcohol Group, AG), 27% sucrose solution (Isocaloric Group, IG), and water (Control Group, CG). After 56 days, samples were collected and plated on Mitis Salivarius Bacitracin agar to assess the number of colony forming units (CFU/mL) of Streptococcus of the mutans group. The animals were sacrificed and the jaws were removed in order to assess the occurrence of dental caries on the smooth and occlusal surfaces using stereomicroscopy. The data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey test. The average numbers of CFU/mL (10(3)) were: 8.17 (AG), 9.78 (IG), and 5.63 (CG). There was no significant difference among the groups for the occurrence of occlusal caries. Regarding smooth surface caries, in the upper jaw, the caries number in the IG (1.58) was similar to that in the AG (2.06) and in the CG (1.14), and the number of caries in the AG was higher than in the CG; in the lower jaw there was significant difference among the 3 groups: AG (1.14), IG (2.00) and CG (0.43). The diets with the alcohol and sucrose solutions presented a tendency of increasing the colonization by Streptococcus of the mutans group and of increasing the occurrence of smooth surface dental caries in rat molars when compared to the control diet.

Mode of delivery, mutans streptococci colonization, and early childhood caries in three‐ to five‐year‐old Thai children

“…Interestingly, mother regular alcohol use remained in the final logistic analysis as a significant predictor for children's MS, particularly for 5year-old group (Table S3). The mechanisms by which alcohol may increase MS colonization are not clear, in spite of a tendency of increasing the colonization by S. mutans and dental caries on smooth surfaces has been reported in an animal model (36). We hypothesize that the alcohol use could be a potential confounding factor contribut-ing to the positive correlation, as alcohol consumption has been reported closely associated with cigarette smoking (37), poor oral hygiene behaviors (38), and higher number of surfaces with caries (39,40).…”

Drinking alcohol is associated with variation in the human oral microbiome in a large study of American adults

“…Several previous studies, in both animals and humans, have also observed effects of alcohol consumption on oral bacteria. Animal studies showed that diet containing 20% ethanol increases colonization by Streptococcus mutans [ 15 ], a caries-related bacterium, and dramatically decreases the number of detectable bacterial species in the oral biofilms of rats [ 16 ]. Similarly, the association of excessive drinking (> 3 drinks per day) with poor oral health was observed in a population study [ 17 ].…”

L’alcool : une drogue licite aux conséquences bucco-dentaires non négligeables

“…Cependant, un régime alimentaire associé à des boissons à base de saccharose et d' alcool a tendance à augmenter la colonisation par Streptococcus mutans et l'incidence des caries sur les faces occlusales des molaires et les surfaces lisses des autres dents, par rapport à un régime de contrôle. Le saccharose a été identifié comme étant le substrat fondamental pour la synthèse de glucane extracellulaire (polysaccharide composé exclusivement de monomère de glucose), qui est responsable de la capacité des Streptococcus mutans à adhérer à la surface lisse des dents [33]. Toutes les boissons alcoolisées sont sucrées et acides.…”