Human Oral Microbial Ecology and Dental Caries and Periodontal Diseases

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In the human oral cavity, which is an open growth system, bacteria must first adhere to a surface in order to be able to colonize. Ability to colonize a non-shedding tooth surface is necessary prior to any odontopathic or periodontopathic process. Complex microbe-host relationships occur and must be studied before the commensal-to-pathogenic nature of the human indigenous oral flora can be understood. Medical pathogens, if present in the appropriate host, always produce specific disease. Caries and periodontal diseases are conditional diseases, requiring numbers of certain indigenous species at various sites, particularly the tooth surface. In the case of caries, the condition is related to sugar consumption. Periodontal disease/s may require certain host and environmental conditions, such as local environment or nutritional factors in gingival crevicular fluids. Nonetheless, critical numbers of certain indigenous species must be present in order for these diseases to occur. The aim of this review is to understand the acquisition of the indigenous oral flora and the development of human dental plaque. The role of the salivary pellicle and adherence of indigenous bacteria to it are critical first steps in plaque development. Bacterial interactions with saliva, nutritional factors, growth factors, and microbial physiologic processes are all involved in the overall process of microbial colonization.

Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in Dentistry: Analysis of Tooth Structure

“…The oral cavity is the entrance to the digestive system and harbors around 1 × 10 14 microorganisms (59). It is a complex ecological system due to its anatomy, physiology, and varied microbial flora (60).…”

Oral colonization by Streptococcus mutans and its association with the severity of periodontal disease in adults

“…Under certain circumstances, however, oral environmental changes may modify the composition and metabolic activities of the bacterial consortium leading to predominance of pathogens (1) . High counts of Mutans streptococci (MS), Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Streptococcus sobrinus, have been associated with higher prevalence of coronal caries in temporary and permanent dentitions (3)(4)(5)(6)(7) and also root caries (8)(9)(10)(11) . In spite of the widely acknowledged association between increased levels of MS and higher caries experience, other studies have argued against this association (12,13) .…”

Photo Inactivation of Streptococcus mutans Biofilm by Violet-Blue light

“…Commensal oral microbes share space in the oral cavity in a state of quiescence, protecting the human host from pathogenic bacteria [19]. These nonpathogenic bacteria have the potential to become pathogenic, when factors related to changes in the oral environment disrupt their homeostasis [43].…”

“…Oral microbial biofilm has been established to be an etiological factor for dental caries and other oral diseases [34]. Conditions that create an imbalance in the oral environment such as increased number of bacteria, low pH, and an increased intake of sucrose in the diet causes "conditional oral diseases" [19,35]. S. mutans, a facultative anaerobic, acidogenic and aciduric bacterium, is a major pathogen of dental caries [5,15,20].…”