Caries and its risk factors in young children in five different countries

The state of oral health plays an essential role in human comprehensive health. Nevertheless, although considerable improvement in oral health caries has been noted in both developed and newly developing countries, caries is still widespread among children. Although it can be monitored, caries cannot be properly eliminated. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This investigation, performed in cooperation with Jena Hospital in Germany, was conducted in five countries from 2002-2008. The cities Riga (Latvia), Ouro Preto (Brazil), Erfurt (Germany), Volgograd (Russia) and Minsk (Belorus) were engaged in this investigation. Children at the age of 26-34 months were surveyed. Consistent with the research design, the mothers filled out questionnaires about the children's health, and an examination of the children's oral health was performed. The statistics program SPSS 15.0 was used to analyze the obtained data, and the correlations between changing findings were expressed by the Spearmen rank correlation coefficient (r). RESULTS. In this study, 472 children were observed: 179 from Riga, 152 from Erfurt, 62 from Ouru Preto, 116 from Minsk and 84 from Volgograd. A direct correlation existed between the country and plaque (r=0.16) and caries (dmft) (r=-0.11). The direct correlation between dmft and Streptococcus mutans (r=-0.36) was characteristic of children from Erfurt. The lowest dmft index (0.62) was present in children from Erfurt, and the highest (1.57) in children from Ouro Preto. CONCLUSIONS. The frequency and prevalence of caries in young children in Riga is high; it was the lowest in Erfurt and the highest - in Brazil. Plaque and dt were one of the indices with a direct relationship in Riga, Brazil and Minsk. Poor oral hygiene, irregular tooth brushing and the consumption of cariogenic foods and drinks are the most important caries risk factors among children at the age of 2-3 years. The mother's knowledge and attitude affect the child's oral health.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Acid Production by Oral Strains of Candida albicans and Lactobacilli

Both Candida albicans and lactobacilli are common colonizers of carious lesions in children and adolescents. The purpose of this study is to compare the velocity of acid production between C. albicans and several Lactobacillus species at different pH levels and concentrations of glucose. Washed, pure resting-cell suspensions were obtained by culturing a total of 28 oral isolates comprising the species C. albicans, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus paracasei paracasei, Lactobacillus paracasei tolerans and Lactobacillus delbrueckii lactis. Acid production from glucose was determined at a constant pH of 7.0, 5.5, 5.0 and 4.0 by repeated titrations with NaOH in an automated pH-stat system. Acid formation rates of yeast and lactobacilli proved to be similar at both neutral and low pH, while in a moderately acidic environment C. albicans produced less acid than the lactobacilli. Ion chromatographic analysis of the cell-free medium after titration revealed pyruvate to be the predominant organic acid anion secreted by C. albicans. The proportion of organic acids to overall acid production by the yeast was below 10% at neutral conditions, in contrast to 42–66% at pH 4.0. Compared to lactobacilli, yeast required a concentration of glucose that was about 50 times higher to allow acid production at half the maximum speed. Considering the clinical data in the literature about the frequency and proportions of microorganisms present in early childhood caries lesions, the contribution of oral lactobacilli as well as C. albicans to overall microbial acid formation appears to be important.Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich