Evaluación de la fermentación de azúcares comúnmente utilizados en medicamentos por parte de streptococcus mutans.

Tesis (Cirujano Dentista, Especialización en Microbiología)Una de las enfermedades más prevalentes del ser humano es la Caries Dental. Esta es una enfermedad multifactorial, que tiene como principal patógeno bacteriano a S. mutans, encontrándose en casi el 100% de la población mundial, el cual posee distintos serotipos: c, e, f y k. De estos, el serotipo c es el principalmente asociado a la caries dental. Dentro de los factores de riesgo de la caries, se encuentra la asociación entre S. mutans con carbohidratos fermentables de la dieta, cuya interacción provoca una baja drástica del pH bucal, perdiéndose la homeostasis entre desmineralización y remineralización, produciendo la destrucción de la pieza dentaria. Para obtener una solución a este problema, se han comenzado a utilizar azúcares sustitutos que impidan el proceso de fermentación, así disminuyendo el riesgo de caries. Dentro de los azúcares sustitutos tenemos sorbitol, manitol, xylitol y stevia, los cuales en el siguiente estudio se evaluará la capacidad fermentativa de ellos, para poder responder a la interrogante que surge de la idea de saber si los azúcares principalmente utilizados en medicamentos infantiles de uso crónico, podrían ser reemplazados por azúcares no fermentables.Dental caries is a multifactorial process where the calcified tissue of the tooth is affected, having an associated bacteria! pathogen as S. mutans, bacteria precursor of this disease, which affects the ability of remineralization, by means of their metabolic products, acidifying the medium. Many of the carbohydrates that are consumed commonly are found in drugs used by children with a chronic disease of base, being more prone to dental caries, due to the fact that these drugs are for the compulsory use and cannot be supplied in your daily consumption. Currently the sugars most used in medicines are: sucrose, sorbitol and mannitol. In order to distinguish the fermentation profile of different strains of S. mutans, a test was carried out consisting of collection of saliva of 234 children in 4th and 5th grade, from different schools of the Metropolitan Region. Procedures were performed laboratory such as: sowing, insulation, macro and microscopic bacteria! recognition, PCR, serotyping and fermentation of S. mutans with sugars mentioned above, in addition to Stevia, an inert sweetener. As results of the study you can mentían that the serotype C of S. mutans is the most prevalent. In addition, the sugars present in drugs were fermented in 100% by S. mutans, but we have the case of Stevia and Xylitol, which are not fermented, therefore they do not present a cariogenic risk. To conclude, we can see that S. mutans ferments the totality of sugars present in children's medicines far chronic use, in addition the bacterium has a high, almost total, percentage of fermentation of mannitol, a product used in mouthwashes and chewing gum. Stevia and Xylitol on the other hand, proved to be the safest to repla