Effect of Actinomyces viscosus on the Establishment and Symbiosis of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguis in SPF Rats on Different Sucrose Diets

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Abstract
The effects of Actinomyces viscosus on the establishment and symbiosis of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguis and of the sucrose concentration of the diet in relation to caries in rats were investigated. SPF-Osborne Mendel rats were erythromycin-treated and inoculated with Strep. mutans OMZ176E and Strep. sanguis Ny101E. In a second experiment SPF rats were superinoculated with A. viscosus Ny1, Strep. mutans OMZ176E and Strep. sanguis Ny101E. During the experiments the microbial composition of the plaque was followed. The proportion of the inoculated strains in the cultivated plaque flora was relatively low, being 50% in the erythromycin-treated rats and 85% in the SPF rats. A resistance against colonization of Strep. mutans OMZ176E was found in the rats pre-inoculated with A. viscosus Ny1 and Strep. sanguis Ny101E. No effect of the sucrose concentration in the diet on the bacterial composition and on the amount of plaque was observed. No positive correlation was found between the amount of plaque and the incidence of caries lesions. A significant positive correlation between the sucrose content of the diet and the incidence of fissure and smooth surface lesions was found. A predominant demineralization of smooth surface and distal fissures was observed in the erythromycin-treated rats that were inoculated with Strep, mutans OMZ176E. The results suggest that the concentration of sucrose in the diet and the microbial composition, rather than the gross amount of plaque, are the important factors in the caries process in rats.

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