Oral Pathology

 Streptococcus mutans Mechanism

• Key Substrate: Sucrose
• Metabolic Pathway: Phosphorylation → Glycolysis → Lactic acid
• Enzymes:
  • Invertase: Converts sucrose to glucose + fructose
  • Glucosyltransferase (GTF): Forms sticky glucans
  • Fructosyltransferase (FTF): Produces fructans

Actinomyces naeslundii

• Fimbriated surface → fuzzy texture
• Type 1 fimbriae: Bind tooth surfaces/collagen
• Type 2 fimbriae: Bind galactose/galactosamine (epithelial/bacterial targets)