The Effect of Various Sugars and Sugar Mixtures on the Activity and Formation of Enzymes of Dental Plaque and Oral Fluid

The effect of the consumption of certain sugars and sugar mixtures on the activity of certain enzymes of dental plaque and oral fluid was investigated using 72 dental students, divided in six sugar groups: I, sucrose; II, fructose-sorbitol, 1:1; III, fructose-glucose, 1:1; IV, fructose-xylitol, 1:1; V, xylitol; VI, sucrose-maltose, 9:1.The activity of β-fructofuranosidase (invertase) of oral fluid and plaque extracellular compartment was lowered noticeably when replacing the dietary sucrose by other sugars and sugar mixtures. A decrease was observed in extracellular plaque dextranase in all other except the sucrose group.The cells of a cariogenic streptococcus were found to become adapted to grow almost normally in xylitol and sorbitol (5%) media, if the cells had been stored in the respective polyol media for 9 months, although signs of adaptation were observed earlier.