Clinical predictors of mutans streptococci colonization in pre-school children

BACKGROUND: The early mutans streptococci (MS) colonization is a strong caries predictor for the illness in the first infancy, since that precocious adequate habits of oral hygiene and control of sugar are not instituted. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to evaluate clinical characteristics and their relation with the presence or absence of MS in the buccal socket of nursery school infants. METHODS: Data of previous study had been used. A calibrated examiner carried out clinical and microbiological examinations in 130 children, aged between 2.7 the 37.4 (19.0 ± 8.0) months, enrolled on full time public nurseries in Piracicaba . Samples of saliva and plaque had been collected and cultivated under microaerophilic conditions on MSB. Strains with typical morphology were counted, isolated and had been submitted to the molecular identification. RESULTS: The results had shown that 40% (n=52) of the children had presented positive culture for MS. There was association between the presence of colonization and the number of erupted teeth (p<0.0001) and the presence of visible plaque on the labial surfaces of the maxillary incisors (p<0.001). The association between the age of the colonized children and the non-colonized ones showed significance since from the 20 months, 59.3% of the children were presented colonized and above of the 29 months, the prevalence of such finding was of 70% (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that there was relation between the studied settling for MS and the studied factors: age of the child, number of erupted teeth and presence of visible plaque on the labial surfaces of the maxillary incisors.