BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES WITH MIXED POPULATIONS OF ORAL BACTERIA

¹ National Agricultural College, Farm School P. O., Bucks County, Pa.

Although the oxygen uptake of saliva has been measured by various technics, including the Warburg respirometer, the advantages of this particular method have apparently not yet been fully exploited for studying the interrelationship between oral microflora and conditions of their environment. The investigations presented here are concerned with the cultural properties and enzymatic behavior of different biochemical groups selected from among the microorganisms of the mouth. The results obtained as a function of differences in composition of the selective growth medium, degree of aerobiosis, pH, and substrate concentration may provide information necessary for understanding the mass population changes which oral microflora constantly undergo. Relatively little has been done so far on the problem of dental caries with this dynamic approach, despite its already established fruitful application to many other phenomena. For these as well as dental caries, the common denominator is a microbiologic milieu in which certain variables constantly change with respect to others.