Presence of mutans streptococci and various types of lactobacilli in interdental spaces related to development of proximal carious lesions.

During a 2-yr study period samples from saliva, the tongue, and 276 interdental spaces were obtained from 23 7-yr-old children in order to (a) relate the presence of lactobacilli in various oral sites to the occurrence of lactobacilli in saliva, and (b) relate the presence of mutans streptococci and various types of lactobacilli interdentally to the development of proximal carious lesions. The results showed an increased number of interdental samples containing lactobacilli with an increasing number of salivary lactobacilli. Furthermore, lactobacilli were never found interdentally without the presence of mutans streptocci, lactobacilli proved to be the more suitable microorganism for prediction of proximal carious lesions. Neither the number nor the differentiation into different species of interdental lactobacilli seemed to be of importance, but simply whether they were present. The presence of lactobacilli probably reflects a caries-inducing environment (etiologic microflora + fermentable carbohydrates), thus explaining their high predictive ability compared to their rather limited etiologic importance in the initiation of decay.