O'Sullivan D M, Thibodeau E A
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, USA.
Pediatr Dent. 1996 Sep-Oct;18(5):371-4.
Studies indicate that previous caries experience can influence future caries development; however, caries-free individuals also may develop caries. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between baseline caries experience and salivary mutans streptococci (SMS) levels as an indicator for predicting caries incidence in pre-school children. One hundred forty-eight preschool children (mean baseline age, 3-8 years) of low socioeconomic status were examined for dental caries and SMS levels at baseline and annually for 2 years. All children were identified at baseline as either caries free or caries positive. The 2-year delta dmfs scores for both groups were evaluated as 0, 1-2, 3-4, or > 4. The children's baseline SMS levels were categorized as low (0 CFU), moderate (1-50 CFU), or high (> 50 CFU), and were recoded to assigned ranges of 1, 2, and 3, respectively, in each year for longitudinal analysis. Both the caries-free and caries-positive groups had high SMS levels associated with the greatest delta dmfs, and when SMS ranges were added for the three examination years (minimum = 3, maximum = 9), the mean second-year dmfs scores varied directly as the sum of the ranges. Results from this study suggest that SMS levels may be useful in identifying and predicting future caries in preschool children, independent of baseline caries experience.
研究表明，既往龋齿经历会影响未来龋齿的发展；然而，无龋个体也可能患龋。本研究的目的是检验基线龋齿经历与唾液变形链球菌（SMS）水平之间的关系，以此作为预测学龄前儿童龋齿发病率的指标。对148名社会经济地位较低的学龄前儿童（平均基线年龄3 - 8岁）在基线时以及随后2年每年进行龋齿和SMS水平检查。所有儿童在基线时被确定为无龋或患龋。两组儿童2年的dmfs增量得分评估为0、1 - 2、3 - 4或>4。儿童的基线SMS水平分为低（0 CFU）、中（1 - 50 CFU）或高（>50 CFU），并在每年重新编码为分别对应的1、2和3范围用于纵向分析。无龋组和患龋组中，SMS水平高的儿童dmfs增量最大，当将三个检查年份的SMS范围相加（最小值 = 3，最大值 = 9）时，第二年的平均dmfs得分随范围总和直接变化。本研究结果表明，SMS水平可能有助于识别和预测学龄前儿童未来的龋齿情况，而与基线龋齿经历无关。
