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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · European Journal of General Dentistry 2013; 2(02): 130-133
DOI: 10.4103/2278-9626.112310
Original Article

Evaluation of microflora of root carious lesions in different age groups: A microbiological study

Ashok Aparna
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A. B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnata, India
,
Mithra N. Hegde
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A. B. Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnata, India
,
Veena Shetty
1   Department of Microbiology, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte University, Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
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Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of mutans streptococci, lactobacilli and Actinomyces species in root carious lesions in middle-aged and older adults of South Indian population and to comparatively evaluate the microbial count in two different age groups. Materials and Methods: Specimens of root carious lesions were collected from 60 adults for bacteriological studies. Amongst which 28 subjects belonged to middle age group (35-44 years) and 32 subjects to older age group (55-75 years). Standard procedures of culture, isolation and identification of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were adopted in the study. Results: The analysis of results was performed using Chi-square test. SPSS 20 has been used to analyze the data. Among the isolated microorganisms, streptococci (56.7%) and lactobacilli (28.3%) were more prevalent in root caries lesions compared to actinomyces species (15.0%) and most frequently occurred in older adults. There is also a statistically significant association between the age group and the presence of lactobacillus (P=0.024). Conclusions: Aerobic Gram-positive cocci (Streptococcus mutans, lactobacillus) as well as anaerobic bacteria (Actinomyces spp.), occurred most frequently in root carious lesions in older adults as compared to middle-aged population.

Keywords

Actinomyces spp - aerobic/anaerobic bacteria - lactobacilli - root caries - streptococcus mutans


Publication History

Article published online:
01 November 2021

© 2013. European Journal of General Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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