Current concepts on dental plaque and the microbiology of periodontitis and dental caries - a concise review

ABSTRACT

The oral cavity is a home for about 700 bacterial species, 50% of which are as yet uncultivable. They are found either bathing in saliva as planktonic cells or living in stable microbial communities, e.g. dental plaque, within distinct habitats. Due to its presence on non-shedding surfaces and because of its primary etiological role in dental caries and periodontitis, dental plaque has always been a focus of dental research. Influenced by an explosion in the interest in biofilm biology that occurred in the last decade, much attention has been recently given to the study of dental plaque as a microbial biofilm. Such a trend has been facilitated by advances in technologies and molecular methods. This review summaries the current knowledge about the different aspects of dental biofilms, and presents the different hypotheses on their etiological role in periodontitis and dental caries. The current stand on the microbiology of these diseases is also described