RESUMO
PURPOSE: This study examined and compared levels of salivary bacteria which produced volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) in young children with and without oral malodor. METHODS: Clinic populations of children aged two to seven years, whose parents presented with an unsolicited major complaint of oral malodor in their child (OM+), or aged-matched controls in whom oral malodor was not detected by parents (OM-), were investigated. Saliva specimens were cultured anaerobically on media that differentiated VSC+ bacteria. These were quantified and identified. Levels in OM+ and OM- children were compared and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: OM+ children harbored significantly higher levels of VSC+ isolates in saliva than OM- children (OM+ = 44% of total viable counts, TVC; OM- = 24% of TVC; P = 0.0083). Types of recovered bacterial species did not differ in the two groups, but levels of Prevotella oralis were significantly higher in OM+ children (P = 0.0001). Veillonella species followed by P. oralis were the predominant VSC+ isolates recovered in both populations. CONCLUSIONS: VSC+ salivary bacteria may differ both in type and quantity in young children with and without parent-perceived oral malodor.
