Cavity

A brush with cavities is no fun, but ours will make you smile!

Children, parents and educators will enjoy using these educational plush toys to teach about hygiene, disease and the human body. Each microbe comes with a description of the disease it causes or function it performs. Use these fun, non-threatening toys to emphasize the importance of washing hands and preventing sickness in social settings.

Streptococcus mutans is a facultatively anaerobic bacterium commonly found in the human oral cavity and is a significant contributor to tooth decay. Along with S. sobrinus, S. mutans plays a major role in tooth decay, metabolizing sucrose to lactic acid. The acidic environment created in the mouth by this process is what causes the highly mineralized tooth enamel to be vulnerable to decay. S. mutans is one of a few specialized organisms equipped with receptors that help for better adhesion to the surface of teeth. Sucrose is utilized by S. mutans to produce a sticky, extracellular, polysaccharide that allows them to cohere to each other forming plaque.