Department of Developmental and Preventive Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Oral Microbiology Research Laboratory, Department of Bioclinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Clin Exp Dent Res. 2020 Jun;6(3):328-335. doi: 10.1002/cre2.285. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
The aim was to investigate the salivary detection frequencies and quantities of caries-associated bacteria from patients with orthodontic brackets.
Patients wearing orthodontic brackets (n = 40, mean age = 26 years) and healthy controls without brackets (n = 40, mean age = 17 years) were enrolled in the study. Saliva samples from each patient was collected. After DNA purification, target species comprising streptococci and a Lactobacillus species were detected and quantified from the samples using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR.
Detection frequencies did not differ between the orthodontic patients and the control subjects for any target species except for Streptococcus sobrinus, which showed significantly lower detection rates in orthodontic patients (p < .05). Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus gordonii were found at the highest detection frequencies with both species being detected in 38 (95%) of the saliva samples of orthodontic patients. Similarly, L. casei and Streptococcus salivarius were the species with highest detection frequencies (35, 87.5%) in the control subjects. Real-time PCR revealed that Streptococcus mutans and S. salivarius quantities were significantly higher in orthodontic patients than in the control subjects (p < .05).
Application of orthodontic brackets for 12 months leads to increased salivary levels of cariogenic bacteria and may serve as a potential risk factor for caries initiation.
本研究旨在调查佩戴正畸托槽患者唾液中致龋菌的检出频率和数量。
研究纳入了 40 名佩戴正畸托槽的患者（平均年龄 26 岁）和 40 名无托槽的健康对照者（平均年龄 17 岁）。采集每位患者的唾液样本。经 DNA 纯化后，采用聚合酶链反应（PCR）和实时定量 PCR 检测样本中包含的链球菌属和乳杆菌属的目标菌种，并对其进行定量分析。
除变形链球菌外，正畸患者与对照组之间的任何目标菌种的检出频率均无差异，而变形链球菌在正畸患者中的检出率显著较低（p <.05）。乳杆菌属和缓症链球菌的检出频率最高，两种菌均存在于 38 名（95%）正畸患者的唾液样本中。同样，乳杆菌属和唾液链球菌在对照组中的检出频率最高（35，87.5%）。实时 PCR 显示，正畸患者的变形链球菌和唾液链球菌数量显著高于对照组（p <.05）。
正畸托槽应用 12 个月会导致唾液中致龋菌水平升高，可能成为龋齿发生的潜在危险因素。
