{"id":88938,"date":"2025-06-01T07:25:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T07:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=88938"},"modified":"2025-06-01T07:25:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T07:25:11","slug":"an-important-cause-of-tooth-decay-by-the-bacterium-streptococcus-mutan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/an-important-cause-of-tooth-decay-by-the-bacterium-streptococcus-mutan\/","title":{"rendered":"An important cause of tooth decay by the bacterium Streptococcus mutan"},"content":{"rendered":"

An important cause of tooth decay by the bacterium Streptococcus mutans is because of their ability to attach to teeth surface by producing slime layer from<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”Sugar” option2=”Alcohol” option3=”Saliva” option4=”Teichoic acid” correct=”option1″]<\/p>\n

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This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC NDA-2 – 2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Streptococcus mutans metabolizes dietary sugars, particularly sucrose, to produce acids that demineralize tooth enamel (causing decay) and to synthesize extracellular polysaccharides (glucans and fructans). These sticky polysaccharides form a ‘slime layer’ or matrix which allows the bacteria to adhere firmly to the tooth surface and form dental plaque (biofilm).<\/section>\n
Streptococcus mutans is a key bacterium in the initiation of dental caries (tooth decay). It produces both acid and a sticky matrix from fermentable carbohydrates, primarily sugars.<\/section>\n
While saliva plays a role in buffering acids and clearing food debris, it is not used by the bacteria to produce the sticky layer. Teichoic acid is a component of the bacterial cell wall, contributing to cell shape and adhesion, but the bulk of the slime layer is composed of polysaccharides synthesized from dietary sugars. Alcohol is generally not relevant to this process in the context of dietary intake leading to decay.<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An important cause of tooth decay by the bacterium Streptococcus mutans is because of their ability to attach to teeth surface by producing slime layer from [amp_mcq option1=”Sugar” option2=”Alcohol” option3=”Saliva” option4=”Teichoic acid” correct=”option1″] This question was previously asked in UPSC NDA-2 – 2023 Download PDFAttempt Online Streptococcus mutans metabolizes dietary sugars, particularly sucrose, to produce … <\/p>\n

Detailed SolutionAn important cause of tooth decay by the bacterium Streptococcus mutan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1094],"tags":[1105,1242,1117],"class_list":["post-88938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-nda-2","tag-1105","tag-bacterial-diseases","tag-biology","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\nAn important cause of tooth decay by the bacterium Streptococcus mutan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Streptococcus mutans metabolizes dietary sugars, particularly sucrose, to produce acids that demineralize tooth enamel (causing decay) and to synthesize extracellular polysaccharides (glucans and fructans). These sticky polysaccharides form a 'slime layer' or matrix which allows the bacteria to adhere firmly to the tooth surface and form dental plaque (biofilm). Streptococcus mutans is a key bacterium in the initiation of dental caries (tooth decay). It produces both acid and a sticky matrix from fermentable carbohydrates, primarily sugars.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/an-important-cause-of-tooth-decay-by-the-bacterium-streptococcus-mutan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An important cause of tooth decay by the bacterium Streptococcus mutan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Streptococcus mutans metabolizes dietary sugars, particularly sucrose, to produce acids that demineralize tooth enamel (causing decay) and to synthesize extracellular polysaccharides (glucans and fructans). These sticky polysaccharides form a 'slime layer' or matrix which allows the bacteria to adhere firmly to the tooth surface and form dental plaque (biofilm). 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