Assessment of the Biofilm Forming Potentials of Microorganisms Associated with Tooth Decay in Central Nigeria

Dental biofilm forming organisms are the major sources of oral diseases globally.The purpose of this study is to isolate and identify common microorganisms associated with tooth decay and assessing their biofilm forming potentials in a tertiary healthcare facility in Central Nigeria. Eleven (11) swabs samples were collected from the oral cavity of participants presented with tooth decay and wereinoculated in Nutrient broth for 24 hours. The broth cultures were later standardized and inoculated on Mueller-Hinton agar andSabouroud dextrose agarfor the isolation of bacterial and fungal species respectively. The isolates were identified and characterized using standard microbiological techniques. Sixteen of the isolates were selected for quantitative biofilm formation assay which was performed by the microtiter plate and spectrophotometer assay. Among the microorganisms isolated from the oral cavity, Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus had the highest percentage of occurrence (18.75%) while Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans had the lowest percentage of occurrence (6.25%). Of the 16 isolates tested, 5 (31.25%) were strong, 9 (56.25%) were moderate and 2 (12.5%) were weak biofilm formers. The absorbance was considered as an index of biofilm formation. This study has reported the predominance of bacterial species associated with tooth decay and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first public report that has quantify the biofilm forming potential of C. albicans in Central Nigeria. This may improve the current knowledge of microbial pattern and biofilm forming potentials in tooth decay individuals in Nigeria.