Effects of Dietary Carbohydrates on the Numbers of Streptococcus mutans and Actinomyces viscosus in Dental Plaque of Mono-infected Gnotobiotic Rats

¹ Institute of Preventive and Community Dentistry, University of Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9101, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Dietary sucrose and glucose are known to promote the accumulation of, respectively, Streptococcus mutans and Actinomyces viscosus in complex dental plaque microflora. In this study, we have investigated the effects of these carbohydrates on the numbers of S. mutans; and A. viscosus colonizing the teeth of mono-infected gnotobiotic rats. Sucrose at a dietary concentration of between 0.25 and 0.5 percent (corresponding with 7-15 mM in the drinking water) caused an increase in the numbers of S. mutans. This result strongly suggested that the increase was due to extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) synthesis by glucosyltransferase, whose K_m value (1.0-7.0 mM) is in the same concentration range.

The numbers of A. viscosus increased three-fold when 10% glucose was added to the basal diet. It seems plausible that this was due to extracellular heteropolysaccharide produced by A. viscosus in the presence of excess glucose. Although in most microbial ecosystems provision of additional substrates leads to an increase in biomass, glucose had only a small effect on the numbers of S. mutans. Mechanical dislodging forces could be limiting the accumulation of dental plaque. EPS synthesis from dietary carbohydrates seems to enable the population to withstand mechanical dislodging at least partially by providing a matrix wherein cells are entrapped or to which the cells are firmly attached.