For prophylaxis of caries it is enough to take probiotics that will keep unwanted bacteria under control.
Such an unexpected output is offered in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
In 2011-2012, in the United States, 91% of the adult population of 20-64 years was affected by caries.
To a large extent this was promoted by a typical American diet with an abundance of sweets and colas, as well as inadequate oral hygiene and an unwillingness to pay expensive visits to the dentist.
In order for your tooth enamel to remain healthy, the pH of the medium in the oral cavity should be neutral. High acidity of the environment contributes to the destruction of enamel and the formation of carious cavities.
Brushing your teeth and using a special chewing gum - this may not be enough. Researchers from the College of Dentistry of the University of Florida Robert Burne (Robert Burne) and Marcelle Nascimento (Marcelle Nascimento) suggested something original - a bacterial drug containing a specific strain of streptococcus.
Previously, Barn and Nascimento found that urea (which is formed in the mouth) and amino acid arginine are cleaved to ammonia, which helps to normalize the acidity in the mouth. People who splice these substances more effectively are less prone to caries than others.
Scientists already then understood that some other bacteria are responsible for the cleavage of arginine and urea, but which ones? The answer was the discovery of a new strain of Streptococcus, which was called A12.
To calculate a useful bacterium, the researchers had to review hundreds of samples that contained more than 2,000 different kinds of bacteria inhabiting the mouth in humans. Of these, only 54 strains were processed with arginine, and streptococcus A12 did it best of all.
After sequencing the genome and a series of experiments, Nascimento says with certainty that streptococcus A12 is "a good bacterium that can beat bad guys and push the development of caries". Her colleague Dr. Barn also believes that probiotics can become a new word in the prevention of this disease.
The authors note that streptococcus A12 not only participates in the cleavage of arginine, but also suppresses its dangerous relative Streptococcus mutans - one of the most harmful oral microorganisms. If A12 does not even kill S. mutans, then deprives him of the ability to form biofilms - a bacterial plaque on the teeth.
"It is enough to give this bacterium to a healthy child or an adult who has an increased risk of dental caries. It is not known how many times this should be done, once in a lifetime or once a week, but the idea is that you can prevent caries by filling the mouth with the right microorganisms. This is a fundamentally new approach, "Barn said..
Although there is a long way to go before the advent of the bacterial drug against caries, while the A12 is the best candidate.
medbe. en.