Screening the Drug Resistance Property Among Aerobic Pathogenic Microorganisms of Dental Caries in North-Western Indian Population: A Preliminary Study.

AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the emerging drug resistance among the caries pathogens isolated from carious dentine microbiologically.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Specimens from dental caries were collected from 75 patients referred to Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Vyas Dental College. Microbiological processing of all the samples was done within three hours to isolate the caries pathogens. The samples were inoculated on agar medium (Nutrient agar, Mac-conkey's agar) at 370C for 48 hours aerobically. The identification of strains was done by observing colony morphology and gram's staining. The predominant isolates were subjected to antimicrobial sensitivity test (Kirby Bauer's method). Statistical analysis of the isolates was done using paired t-test.
RESULTS: Out of 75 patients more common isolates were Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Yeast. The predominant were Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas species. Newer antibiotics were proved to be effective against these predominant strains after evaluating antibiotic sensitivity tests.
CONCLUSION: Although Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans) is the most prevalent microorganism seen in dental caries, the role of other microorganisms like Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas in initiation and progression of caries is evident from this study. Further extensive and large scale studies need to be conducted for better understanding the role of these microorganisms in dental caries.