Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Dec 14:13:1178633720976581.
doi: 10.1177/1178633720976581. eCollection 2020.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Oral Cavity: Implications for Antibiotic Prophylaxis and Surveillance

Eric S Donkor  1 , Fleischer Cn Kotey  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Oral Cavity: Implications for Antibiotic Prophylaxis and Surveillance

Eric S Donkor et al. Infect Dis (Auckl). .

Abstract

The oral cavity harbors a multitude of commensal flora, which may constitute a repository of antibiotic resistance determinants. In the oral cavity, bacteria form biofilms, and this facilitates the acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes through horizontal gene transfer. Recent reports indicate high methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage rates in the oral cavity. Establishment of MRSA in the mouth could be enhanced by the wide usage of antibiotic prophylaxis among at-risk dental procedure candidates. These changes in MRSA epidemiology have important implications for MRSA preventive strategies, clinical practice, as well as the methodological approaches to carriage studies of the organism.

Keywords: MRSA; antibiotics; dental; oral; prophylaxis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Carr VR, Witherden EA, Lee S, et al. Abundance and diversity of resistomes differ between healthy human oral cavities and gut. Nat Commun. 2020;11:693. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Madsen JS, Burmølle M, Hansen LH, et al. The interconnection between biofilm formation and horizontal gene transfer. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2012;65:183-195. - PubMed
    1. Cook LC, Dunny GM. Effects of biofilm growth on plasmid copy number and expression of antibiotic resistance genes in Enterococcus faecalis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2013;57:1850-1856. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Król JE, Wojtowicz AJ, Rogers LM, et al. Invasion of E. coli biofilms by antibiotic resistance plasmids. Plasmid. 2013;70:110-119. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Savage VJ, Chopra I, O’Neill AJ. Staphylococcus aureus biofilms promote horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2013;57:1968-1970. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources