Prevalence and Susceptibility Pattern of Bacterial Isolates of Dental Caries in a Secondary Health Care Institution, Nigeria.

Introduction: The mouth is a favourable habitat for a great variety of bacteria due to the presence of nutrient, epithelia debris and secretions Aim: The aim of this study is to screen for the incidence of Microorganisms from cases of dental caries in Minna General Hospital and to test antibiotic resistance profile of the patho-gens. Method: The samples used were obtained from 40 patients attending the Dental Unit of General Hospital Minna. In order to ensure uniform specimen collection from the oral cavity of the patients, only the investigator swabbed the patients using sterile cotton swab sticks. Specimen was taking from the carious tooth of each patient. Result: Bacteria isolated were identified as strains of Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus and Lactobacillus spp. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest degree of occurrence with 31 isolates, followed by Streptococcus mutans with 23 isolates, while the least was Lactobacillus spp with 4 isolates. All the strains of Streptococcus mutans, and Staphylococ-cus aureus were sensitive to Tarivid (Ofloxacin) and Nitrofurantoin (Furadantin) and totally resistant to Septrin (Co-trimozazole) and Erythromycin (Ilotycin). Only a small percentage of these strains were sensitive to Chloramphenicol (Chloramex), Rocephine (ceftriaxone), Gen-tamycin (Geramycin), Tetracycline (Tetraxin), Zinnat (Cefuroxime) and Claforan (Cefo-taxime). The Lactobacillus strains were totally resistant to all the antibiotics except Tarivid (Ofloxacin). Conclusion: Tarivid (Ofloxacin) and Nitrofurantoin (Furadantin) can be use to treat cases of dental caries in our locality.