Abstract
Aim: To investigate the prevalence of salivary mutans streptococci (MS) in children from a low socioeconomic multicultural suburban area and to evaluate if a 3-year comprehensive oral health education (OHE) program, initiated at the age of two years, had an impact on the saliva levels. study design: Prospective clinical trial. methods: The material consisted of two cohorts of 6-year-old children from a suburban area in southern Sweden. One cohort (n=804) had participated in a OHE program with a focus on tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste and flouride tablets added to the regular preventive care provided by the Public Dental Service. The second cohort (n=217) consisted of reference children only attending for regular dental care. Both cohorts were dominated by children with Arabic background. Salivary MS were evaluated by a chair-side test and caries was scored through clinical examinations. statistics: Analyses were performed with chisquare tests, Pearson correlation coefficients and odds ratio calculations. Results: The prevalence of salivary MS was high in both cohorts with approximately 90% harbouring the bacteria. One third of the children exhibited high counts (>106 CFU/ml) and there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. A statistically significant positive relationship between the levels of MS colonisation and caries prevalence was found in both cohorts. Conclusions: A 3-year OHE program implemented at the age of two years did not affect the high levels of salivary MS displayed in 6-year-olds living in a multicultural high-caries area.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angulo M, Pivel L, Zinemanas E, Jorysz E, Krasse B. Dental caries and salivary conditions in Uraguayan children from two different socioeconomic areas. Acta Odontol Scand 1994;52:377–383.
Beighton D, Brailsford S, Samaranayake LP, et al. A multi-country comparison of caries-associated microflora in demographically diverse children. Community Dent Health 2004;21:96–101.
Grindefjord M, Dahllöf G, Wikner S, Höjer B, Modéer T. Prevalence of mutans streptococci in one-year-old children. Oral Microbiol Immunol 1991;6:280–283.
Habibian M, Beighton D, Stevenson R, Lawson M, Roberts G. Relationships between dietary behaviours, oral hygiene and mutans streptococci in dental plaque of a group of infants in southern England. Arch Oral Biol 2002;47:491–498.
Jensen B, Bratthall D. A new method for the estimation of mutans streptococci in human saliva. J Dent Res 1989;68:468–471.
Karjalainen S, Söderling E, Pienihäkkinen K. Validation and inter-examiner agreement of mutans streptococci levels in plaque and saliva of 10-year-old children using simple chairside tests. Acta Odontol Scand 2004;62:153–157.
Kay EJ, Locker D. Is dental health education effective? A systematic review of current evidence. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1996;24:231–235.
Kowash MB, Curzon MEJ, Hart P. Association of salivary Streptococcus mutans with caries in young children: effect of dental health education on salivary levels. Eur J Paediatr Dent 2002;3:199–204.
Locker D. Deprivation and oral health: a review. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2000;28:161–169.
Pienihäkkinen K, Jokela J. The outcome of risk-based caries prevention in preschool-aged children. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2002;30:143–150.
Radford JR, Ballantyne HM, Nugent Z, et al. Caries-associated micro-organisms in infants from different socio-economic backgrounds in Scotland. J Dent 2000;28:307–312.
Seibert W, Farmer-Dixon C, Bolden T, Stewart JH. Streptococcus mutans levels and caries prevalence in low-income cildren. J Tenn Dent Assoc 2002;82:19–22.
Seow WK, Cheng E, Wan V. Effects of oral health education and tooth-brushing on mutans streptococci infection in young children. Pediatr Dent 2003;25:223–228.
Thenisch NL, Bachmann LM, Imfeldt T, Leisebach Minder T, Steurer J. Are mutans streptococci detected in preschool children a reliable predictive factor for dental caries risk? A systematic review. Caries Res 2006;40:366–374.
Thibodeau EA, O’Sullivan DM, Tinanoff N. Mutans streptococci and caries prevalence in preschool children, Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1993;21:288–291.
Twetman S, Frostner N. Salivary mutans streptococci and dental caries in 8-year-old schoolchildren. Swed Dent J 1991;15:145–151.
Twetman S, Petersson LG, Pakhomov G. Caries incidence in relation to salivary mutans streptococci and fluoride varnish applications in preschool children from low- and optimal-fluoride areas. Caries Res 1996;30:347–353.
Wennhall I, Mårtensson E-M, Sjunnesson I, et al. Caries-preventive effect of an oral health program for preschool children in a low socioeconomic, multicultural area in Sweden: Results after 1 year. Acta Odontol Scand 2005;63:163–167.
Wennhall I, Matsson L, Schröder U, Twetman S. Outcome of an oral health outreach programme for preschool children in a low socioeconomic multicultural area. Int J Paediatr Dent 2008;18:84–90.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wennhall, I., Matsson, L. & Twetman, S. Salivary mutans streptococci in 6-year-old children from a multicultural suburban area after attending an oral health program. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent 9, 94–97 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03262617
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03262617