Sodium Pyrrolidone Carboxylate Inhibits Dentin Adhesion Of Streptococcus Mutans

Aim or purpose: To evaluate the effect of Sodium Pyrrolidone Carboxylate (PCA) on Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) for the prevention of root caries. Materials and methods: S. mutans was cultured in PCA-containing medium to identify growth inhibitory effects. Test solutions were inoculated with S. mutans suspension and viable cells were counted after 6, 12 and 24 hours. Additionally, collagen-coated plates were pre-treated with PCA or water, followed by S. mutans culture. After 2 hours, the plates were washed and the adhesion to collagen was quantified using crystal violet staining. For bovine enamel or dentin, the samples were pre-treated with PCA or water, exposed to S. mutans suspension for 2 hours and washed. After a further 4 hours of culture, adhered bacteria were collected via sonication and quantified. Results: In our study, the bacterial count in the medium after 24 hours was 2.1 × 10^7 CFU/mL in the PCA-treated group and 2.3 × 10^7 CFU/mL in the control group, indicating that PCA did not exhibit a growth inhibitory effect. However, we revealed that PCA has an inhibitory effect on the adhesion of S. mutans to dentin, where pre-treatment with PCA significantly reduced adhesion against collagen by 72 % compared to the control, and PCA-treated group was 2.4 × 10^4 CFU/specimen and control group was 6.7 × 10^5 CFU/specimen in the dentin adhesion test. Conclusions: This study suggested that PCA could potentially contribute to more efficient caries prevention strategies by preventing dentin adhesion of S. mutans.