摘要：Indirect immunofluorescence staining, using a high-titred polyclonal antiserum specific for Streptococcus mutans, was used to identify and enumerate the proportions of this organism in 320 small samples of approximal plaque from 71 children's premolars. The marked sample sites were correlated to the positions of visible lesions beneath the plaque and the proportions of S. mutans analysed. S. mutans was undetected (<0.2 per cent of total counts) in 78.4 per cent of the approximal samples, and detected (>0.2 per cent of total counts) in 21.6 per cent of approximal plaque samples. The detection of S. mutans was very site-specific; on occasions it could be detected at one approximal site but not at adjacent ones. There was a significant association between the presence of S. mutans and caries lesions on an individual site basis (p< 0.05).Keywords: Caries; Immunofluorescence; S. mutans.
