Characteristics of Streptococcus milleri and Streptococcus mitior from infected dental root canals

Morphological and physiological characteristics of 103 streptococcal isolates obtained from positive routine cultures of material from dental root canals at filling, were studied. The majority of the isolates were those which at a primary identification not fullfilled the criteria of enterococci, Strep. sanguis, Strep. mutans or Strep. salivarius. Only a few representative strains of the latter types were included in the study as a control of the method. The resemblance of the 103 isolates to 38 reference strains were assessed with numerical methods. The isolates formed 9 clusters with reference strains occurring in all but one. Of the isolates which it was intended to identify and characterize with numerical taxonomic analysis, all but one joined one of 3 clusters and were identified as Strep. milleri or Strep. mitior (mitis). The most useful cultural characteristics to dfferentiate the two species were growth on the sulphonamide containing MC-agar and 7.5% bile blood agar by Strep. milleri and production of hydrogen peroxide by Strep. mitior. The characteristics of the strains in the nine 80-phenons are given in Table 2. Other characteristics that appeared to be of interest for differentiating Strep. milleri from Strep. mitior and these two species from other viridans streptococci are underlined in Table 2. Strep. milleri seems not earlier to have been reported to occur in infected root canals. The occurrence of Strep. milleri is in agreement with the data given on serological groups found among streptococcal isolates from routine root canal cultures. Little is known about the occurrence and distribution of Strep. milleri in the human oral cavity, which therefore warrant further investigations.