Serum and salivary antibodies to glucosyltransferase in dental caries in man

Abstract

RECENT evidence strongly suggests that dental caries is an infective disease caused predominantly by Streptococcus mutans1-3. This organism has two major characteristics responsible for its cariogenicity: First, in the presence of fermentable carbohydrates it is capable of rapidly producing acid to below the pH required for dissolving enamel, and second, the organism produces glucosyltransferase which is a constitutive enzyme responsible for the synthesis of extracellular polysaccharides4. These polysaccharides are glucans which are commonly referred to in the literature as dextran; they form a major component of the bacterial plaque matrix and may be responsible for adhesion of the bacterial plaque to tooth enamel5. © 1972 Nature Publishing Group.