Real-time polymerase chain reaction quantification of the salivary levels of cariogenic bacteria in patients with orthodontic fixed appliances

Abstract

Aim: The aim was to investigate the salivary detection frequencies and quantities of caries-associated bacteria from patients with orthodontic brackets. Methods: Patients wearing orthodontic brackets (n = 40, mean age = 26 years) and healthy controls without brackets (n = 40, mean age = 17 years) were enrolled in the study. Saliva samples from each patient was collected. After DNA purification, target species comprising streptococci and a Lactobacillus species were detected and quantified from the samples using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR. Results: Detection frequencies did not differ between the orthodontic patients and the control subjects for any target species except for Streptococcus sobrinus, which showed significantly lower detection rates in orthodontic patients (p