Geriatric Caries Activity Test

This is a new approach to the development and validation of a test for assessing dental caries probability. The focus is on the detection and measurement by means of a specific physical chemical phenomenon--colloidal flocculation--due to the interaction of caries-connected extracellular polysaccharides (ECPs). Specifically produced enzymatically from sucrose by caries-associated mutans streptococci. The test uses salivary samples or a month rinse, and its sensitivity is adjusted to level which corresponds to well-established limits based on generally accepted ranges of viable counts of cultured mutans streptococci. A prototype test will be studied using saliva obtained from geriatric subjects already enrolled in a root caries risk assessment program. Correlations are made between the results of the one-step calorimetric prototype and salivary total viable cultured streptococci species, Streptococci salivarius and mutans streptococci species using standard culturing techniques and colony morphology. The prototype test results will be similarly compared to the measured quantities of total, soluble and insoluble extracellular polysaccharides; thus, the results will incorporate radioactive sucrose by salivary transferase enzymes found in the same samples. Correlation occurring between salivary flors, total, soluble and insoluble ECPs will be established statistically. From these measurements and statistics, the test is validated with respect to its specificity for class of extracellular polysaccharide secreted by caries-risk levels of caries associated microorganisms.