Virulence of Streptococcus mutans: an antibiotic-suppressed rat model for studies of pathogenesis.

This investigation describes a simple and effective method of antibiotic suppression of the total indigenous microbiol flora of rats. Specifically, the results of this study demonstrate that: (1) antibiotics which inhibit microbial growth of oral and fecal cultures from individual rats are effective in suppressing the indigenous flora of 95% of these rats when provided as dietary supplements; (2) S mutans 6715 colonized 95% of the antibiotic-suppressed animals while only 50% of the untreated rat pups yielded S mutans following challenge with a single inoculum of this micro-organism; and (3) significant smooth surface caries developed in S mutans-infected rats within 20 days when provided caries-promoting Diet 305, while noninfected, antibiotic-suppppressed offspring remained essentially caries-free.