Rapid molecular diagnosis of streptococcus mutans causing dental caries using 16SrRNA and gtfB

Abstract

Dental caries, or “tooth decay,” is the most prevalent chronic infectious disease in the oral cavity. Among both younger and older generations, dental caries is the leading cause of tooth loss and root decay. One of the microorganisms that is frequently connected to dental caries is Streptococcus mutans. Aim.  To isolate and identify S. mutans from dental caries, Methods. To achieve these goals, a total of one hundred specimens were obtained from patients clinically diagnosed by dental physicians with dental caries. All specimens were screened to detect the presence of S. mutans on different culture media using morphological and biochemical tests, specimens were further processed for molecular characterization method, bacterial DNA was isolated to be identified by polymerase chain reactions for specific primers pairs of 16S rRNA and gtfB genes. Results. The results of morphological and biochemical tests revealed that 34 isolates S. mutans isolates were isolated from a total of 100 dental caries samples with a percentage of 34% which confirmed by molecular diagnosis. Conclusion. This study demonstrates findings imply that PCR analysis, employing particular primers (gtfB;16SRNA), is appropriate for the straight forward, quick, and accurate identification of S. mutans.