A Quantitative Method for Evaluating Physical and Chemical Agents which Modify Production of Acids in Bacterial Plaques on Human Teeth

Stephan, Robert M.; Miller, Benjamin F.

doi:10.1177/00220345430220010601

Cited by 92 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The increase is spontaneous and includes an increase in the numbers of acidogenic micro-organisms along with other resident oral bacteria. All factors being equal, such an increase in bacterial numbers will give a more acidic Stephan pH response than before the build-up (Stephan and Miller, 1943;Imfeld, 1983). This would make a caries-producing condition possible or an existing caries condition worse.…”

Section: (Xiv) Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Mixed-bacteria Ecological Approach to Understanding the Role of the Oral Bacteria in Dental Caries Causation: an Alternative to Streptococcus mutans and the Specific-plaque Hypothesis

Kleinberg

2002

Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine

282

131

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

T oward the end of the 19th century, the new science of bacteriology arose as a result of major advances in the formulation of growth media and the development of techniques for isolating and studying bacteria. Micro-organisms proved to be major causes of several diseases that were fatal to humans.Disease occurred when a specific micro-organism reached a target site where the tissues and conditions enabled the organism to flourish and reach the elevated numbers needed to cause significant damage to the host and even death. W.D. Miller (1890) learned these isolation techniques and applied them to the examination of the many micro-organisms resident within the oral cavity. At the same time, he found that, collec - C ONTROVERSYResearch on dental caries has a long history, and the biology of its development has proved to be far more complex than anyone might have thought. Specificity and non-specificity of the causative bacteria have been at the center of the controversy of how this disease occurs and how it should be treated. From this article, it appears that the composition, metabolism, and caries-causing capability of applicable bacterial mixtures are integrated, and that they are affected collectively by oral ecological conditions and changes. This is an area of Oral Biology that needs further exploration and could provide significant dividends in the development of our understanding of human ecological infections in general.- ABSTRACT: For more than 100 years, investigators have tried to identify the bacteria responsible for dental caries formation and to determine whether their role is one of specificity. Frequent association of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus mutans with caries activity gave credence to their being specific cariogens. However, dental caries occurrence in their absence, and the presence of other bacteria able to produce substantial amounts of acid from fermentable carbohydrate, provided arguments for non-specificity. In the 1940s, Stephan found that the mixed bacteria in dental plaque produced a rapid drop in pH following a sugar rinse and a slow pH return toward baseline. This response became a cornerstone of plaque and mixed-bacterial involvement in dental caries causation when Stephan showed that the pH decrease was inversely and clearly related to caries activity. Detailed examination of the pH (acidbase) metabolisms of oral pure cultures, dental plaque, and salivary sediment identified the main bacteria and metabolic processes responsible for the pH metabolism of dental plaque. It was discovered that this metabolism in different individuals, in plaque in different dentition locations within individuals, and in individuals of different levels of caries activity could be described in terms of a relatively small number of acid-base metabolic processes. This led to an overall bacterial metabolic vector concept for dental plaque, and helped unravel the bacterial involvement in the degradation of the carbohydrate and nitrogenous substrates that produce the acids and alkali that aff...

show abstract

Section: (Xiv) Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Removal by physical and/or chemical means of the plaque that has built up reverses the effects of the process and is therefore a logical method of treatment (Stephan and Miller, 1943). Oral hygiene devices, such as toothbrushes with or without toothpastes and the like, would be the order of the day.…”

Section: (Xiv) Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Mixed-bacteria Ecological Approach to Understanding the Role of the Oral Bacteria in Dental Caries Causation: an Alternative to Streptococcus mutans and the Specific-plaque Hypothesis

Kleinberg

2002

Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine

282

131

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…When the rate of demineralization exceeds that of remineralization with a sustained drop in pH below 5.5, enamel dissolution occurs and the caries process begins [1]. A challenge to the critical pH may occur as a result of the ingestion of fermentable carbohydrates and retention of cariogenic bacteria in plaque resulting in demineralization of tooth structure [2]. Fluoride concentrated in plaque and saliva shifts the oral cavity demineralization/remineralization equilibrium to the mineralization state [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substantive Fluoride Release from a New Fluoride Varnish Containing CXP

Milburn¹,

Henrichs²,

Banfield³

et al. 2015

Dentistry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The trend of readings was similar to that observed with the antimony electrode, which, having a much lower resistance, gave steadier readings and was therefore used for most of the measurements. Repro ducible values were not obtained when the electrode was repeatedly withdrawn from contact with the tooth and replaced, as had been found satisfactory for studies on humans by Stephan and Miller (1943). On the contrary it was found essential to keep the electrode steadily in position.…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 98%