Adherence of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans to different bracket materials

Abstract

Objective:To quantify the adherence of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans on brackets made of stainless steel, plastic, ceramic, titanium, and gold, and to evaluate the various sites of adherence of these microorganisms with scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Materials and Methods:Brackets made of stainless steel, plastic, ceramic, titanium, and gold were used. The adherence of S. mutans and C. albicans were studied. The brackets were placed in flat-bottomed vials containing basal medium with 20% sucrose added; the flasks were inoculated with each of the microbial suspensions. The samples were incubated at 37°C for 48 h, after which the brackets were removed. The cells adhering to the glass were counted and the brackets were studied with SEM.Results:When evaluated together, the adherence of S. mutans and C. albicans was increased in the ceramic bracket group. When evaluated separately, metallic brackets had increased number of colony-forming units (CFUs) of S. mutans and the use of titanium brackets increased the CFUs of C. albicans. SEM demonstrated that the adherence of S. mutans and C. albicans together varied according to the bracket materials, with ceramic having the greatest and stainless steel having the least adherence.Conclusions:Oral hygiene may be of greater concern with esthetic brackets since this study shows that microbial adhesion is greater with these brackets.

In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-infective Potential of Thymol Against Early Childhood Caries Causing Dual Species Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans

“…Dual species interaction of C. albicans and S. mutans is found in the ECC (Marchant et al, 2001;de Carvalho et al, 2006;Raja et al, 2010) and in bracket materials (Rammohan et al, 2012). Also, S. mutans and C. albicans have been found together in carious lesions (Vílchez et al, 2010).…”

Adhesion of <i>Streptococcus mutans</i> on Different Types of Orthodontic Brackets

“…The study also observed that a longer incubation time significantly increased the adhesion of cariogenic streptococci, irrespective of the strain, the type of bracket, and saliva coating and the amount of adhesion was highest in the sample incubated for 6 hours [11]. Moreover, the adherence of S. mutans and C. albicans varied according to the bracket materials, with ceramic having the greatest and stainless steel having the least adherence [12]. Long-term biofilm formation on metal and ceramic brackets showed that ceramic brackets exhibit less longterm biofilm accumulation than metal brackets [13].…”

Nanomaterials Application in Orthodontics

“…Researchers like Shrinivaasan Nambi Rammohan, Ahn, Papaioannou, Fournier, or Brusca explored the relationship between CFUs (S. mutans alone, C. albicans alone, S. mutans, and C. albicans in combination) on surfaces of different kinds of orthodontic materials. When S. mutans was evaluated alone Shrinivaasan et al [104], Papaioannou et al [105], Fournier et al [106], and Brusca et al [107] found no obvious difference in the adhesion of S. mutans to stainless steel, plastic, and ceramic brackets. Quite different results were obtained Ahn et al [108] There was a greater number of CFUs on stainless steel brackets than on plastic and ceramic brackets.…”