Composition of the oral streptococcal flora in healthy children

Objectives: To identify the predominant streptococcal species in the mouths of healthy children and to investigate the composition of the oral streptococcal flora over a period of 4 months. Patients and methods: The subjects were 33 fit, healthy schoolchildren aged between 5 and 16 years. These children were part of a large study and were the matched controls for a group of subjects undergoing bone marrow transplantation. The oral flora was sampled using an oral rinse technique on two separate occasions 4 months apart. The outcome measures were the number of each streptococcal species per millilitre of oral rinse; the isolation frequency of each species; the proportion of each species as a percentage of both the total streptococcal count and the total anaerobic count. Results: The predominant species were Streptococcus salivarius, S. oralis and S. mitis. There was no significant variation in the composition of the oral streptococcal flora over the 4 month period. Conclusions: The oral rinse technique provides a reliable method of sampling the streptococcal flora of children.