[A bacteriological study of frontal deciduous dental caries in children].

Bacteriological factors of caries in anterior deciduous teeth were studied by analysing the flora in 25 children, aged 3 to 4 years. Samples were collected from the caries of labial surfaces of maxillary anterior deciduous teeth, including caries lesions, white spot margins of these lesions and caries-free smooth enamel surfaces. Plaques were obtained from the cervical third areas of the maxillary labial anterior deciduous tooth surfaces in caries-free children and served as controls. The results show the detectable rate of S. mutans and their amount against total streptococci in the 3 sampling sites are both significantly higher than that of caries-free children. This suggests S. mutans may be the major pathogenic bacteria of caries of anterior deciduous teeth.