Dental tests

Oral health care and prevention of oral disease are essential to health and well-being. Orion Diagnostica’s dental diagnostic tests comprise a series of chair-side tests for evaluation of patients' oral health. All tests are performed on stimulated saliva. On the basis of the test results, dental professionals can advise the patient on oral hygiene and undertake early intervention and prevention of oral diseases.

Buffering capacity

Saliva is very important in maintaining oral health and preventing dental caries.

The higher the buffering capacity (the ability to resist changes in pH) of saliva, the more effectively the saliva protects the mouth against acid attack by bacteria.

Mutans streptococci (Harmful Bacteria)

Mutans streptococci play an important role in the initiation and progression of dental caries. This bacterium thrives in the plaque that forms on the surface of teeth. It uses sugars to produce acids capable of dissolving the tooth enamel, which will eventually develop cavities.

Mutans streptococci are usually transmitted from adults to children, and then settle on and attack the emerging teeth. The earlier the colonisation of teeth occurs, the higher the prevalence of dental caries is.

Lactobacilli (Harmful Bacteria)

A high lactobacilli count indicates a high content and high frequency of intake of carbohydrates in the diet and should be recognised as a risk factor for the development of dental caries.

Yeasts

Yeast count in saliva can be used to predict the risk of caries and assess oral hygiene status. In normal conditions, yeasts occur in small numbers in the oral cavity. If the body's defence mechanism is suppressed by disease or, for example, antibiotic treatment, yeasts may multiply and cause soft-tissue lesions.

Oral yeast infection is often the first symptom of an underlying medical problem. Prevalence of salivary yeasts is high among individuals with a low salivary secretion rate (dry mouth).