Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2007, 49:10 http://www.actavetscand.com/content/49/1/10 Table 1: Presence of bacteria in samples taken after 2002 Approximate number of bacteria (CFU/ml VMGAIII) Animals with caries, P2 samples (n = 50) Animals with caries, internal control (n = 30) Control animals, P2 samples (n = 40) Control animals internal control (n = 40) 0 < 100 000 100 000 to 1 million > 1 million 0 6 11 33 10 7 5 8 36 4 0 0 37 3 0 0 Compared to control animals, S. devriesei was a significantly more common finding in horses with carious (p <0.0001, 3 df). S. devriesei was significantly less prevalent (p < 0.0001), in positive control animals than in internal control samples from animals with caries. sumption and hence adhere to the teeth surfaces. Whether any of these food compositions may be associated with P2 caries remains to be investigated. Future investigations should determine whether the composition of feed dif- fered between the caries and control groups used in the present study. Saliva parameters should also be investi- gated in greater detail in horses, since we know that in humans the secretion rate (at rest and stimulated), pH, buffer capacity and chemical composition of saliva greatly influence the risk of developing caries [22]. Conclusion We suggest that S. devriesei forms part of the normal equine oral bacterial flora and that under certain condi- SFtirgeuptroeco7ccus devriesei growing on MSB agar Streptococcus devriesei growing on MSB agar. The extra cellular polysaccharides are evident as a transparent slime around the dark blue bacterial colonies. Page 8 of 9 (page number not for citation purposes)