Comparison of five growth media and two anaerobic techniques for isolating bacteria from dental plaque.

Five agar media in combination with the Hungate roll tube technique and conventional anaerobic jar technique (Baird & Tatlock¿ jars) were evaluated to determine the most suitable medium for non-selective isolation of the viable microorganisms in dental plaque. The highest colony count was obtained by using "Modified Medium 10" with the roll tube technique. About twice as many plaque colonies were recovered by roll tube technique as by the conventional anaerobic technique. With the MM 10 roll tube technique, 7 d of incubation revealed only 93% of the colonies that could be detected after 14 d of incubation.