Bacterial and Host Cell Receptors for the Actinomyces spp. Fimbrial Lectin

The microbial colonization of teeth is initiated by the attachment of certain gram positive members of the indigenous oral flora to the salivary proteins and glycoproteins that coat the enamel surface. Of the bacteria that form an initial monolayer, approximately 80 percent are either Streptococcus sanguis, S. mitis or S. oralis and another 10 percent Actinomyces viscosus or A.naeslundii (15). That these microorganisms colonize together appears to depend not only on their affinity for the tooth surface but also upon their interactions with each other.