Caries May Signal Oral Antibiotic Resistance

Study found species-specific differences in biofilm -forming capacity and antimicrobial susceptibility among supragingival bacterial isolates from patients with active dental caries.

By
Andrea Surnit
May 29, 2026
3 min

MDSpire News

Objective:

To analyze the differences in antibiotic resistance and biofilm-forming capacity of supragingival bacteria in patients with active dental caries compared to healthy controls.

Key Findings:

21% of Veillonella parvula isolates from patients with caries were susceptible to ampicillin compared to 73% from healthy patients.
79% of isolates from patients with caries were moderate biofilm producers, while 82% from healthy patients were non-biofilm producers.
Resistant bacteria in healthy patients were more frequently associated with stronger biofilm formation.
Moderate and strong biofilm-producing isolates showed higher antimicrobial resistance compared to non-biofilm producing isolates.
Beta-lactamase activity was confirmed in eight bacterial isolates, predominantly in Fusobacterium nucleatum.

Interpretation:

Remove this section.

Limitations:

Small sample size and uneven species representation across groups.
Potential intra-subject dependency due to multiple isolates from the same patient.
Culture-based design limited analysis to cultivable bacteria, missing broader ecological interactions.