Some 9,000 years ago, residents of one of the world's first large farming communities were also among the first humans to experience some of the perils of modern urban living.
Archaeology
Jun 17, 2019
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1604
Yale researchers have uncovered the molecular tricks used by bacteria to fight the effects of fluoride, which is commonly used in toothpaste and mouthwash to combat tooth decay.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 22, 2011
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0
Dutch professors Bauke Dijkstra and Lubbert Dijkhuizen have deciphered the structure and functional mechanism of the glucansucrase enzyme that is responsible for dental plaque sticking to teeth. This knowledge will stimulate ...
Biochemistry
Dec 7, 2010
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0
In a landmark technical achievement, investigators in the Vanderbilt Center for Structural Biology have used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to determine the structure of the largest membrane-spanning protein to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 25, 2009
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0
Conventional dental photography technology has had a limitation in using inconvenient tools such as mirrors and cheek retractors. Dentists require basic teeth images from various angles, such as right/left buccal and maxillary/mandibular ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 19, 2022
0
115
A team of researchers from Beihang University, the Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology and the Michigan Institute of Translational Nanotechnology has developed a synthetic enamel with properties similar to ...
A team of researchers from Zhejiang University and Xiamen University has found a way to repair human tooth enamel. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their process and how well it ...
Adding fluoride to water is common practice in a number of countries, including the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, India and Vietnam. In low concentrations (below 1.5 mg/L), it can prevent tooth decay and even strengthen ...
Materials Science
Feb 18, 2019
0
36
Combine a diet high in sugar with poor oral hygiene habits and dental cavities, or caries, will likely result. The sugar triggers the formation of an acidic biofilm, known as plaque, on the teeth, eroding the surface. Early ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 31, 2018
3
163
The most prevalent chronic disease in both children and adults, tooth decay occurs when the good and bad bacteria in our mouth become imbalanced. The bad bacteria, Streptococcus mutans, forms a biofilm (aka tartar), then ...
Biotechnology
Jul 27, 2018
0
232
Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or cavity, is a disease where bacterial processes damage hard tooth structure (enamel, dentin and cementum). These tissues progressively break down, producing dental cavities (holes in the teeth). Two groups of bacteria are responsible for initiating caries, Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli. If left untreated, the disease can lead to pain, tooth loss, infection, and, in severe cases, death. Today, caries remains one of the most common diseases throughout the world. Cariology is the study of dental caries.
The presentation of caries is highly variable; however, the risk factors and stages of development are similar. Initially, it may appear as a small chalky area which may eventually develop into a large cavitation. Sometimes caries may be directly visible, however other methods of detection such as radiographs are used for less visible areas of teeth and to judge the extent of destruction.
Tooth decay is caused by specific types of acid-producing bacteria which cause damage in the presence of fermentable carbohydrates such as sucrose, fructose, and glucose. The mineral content of teeth is sensitive to increases in acidity from the production of lactic acid. Specifically, a tooth (which is primarily mineral in content) is in a constant state of back-and-forth demineralization and remineralization between the tooth and surrounding saliva. When the pH at the surface of the tooth drops below 5.5, demineralization proceeds faster than remineralization (i.e. there is a net loss of mineral structure on the tooth's surface). This results in the ensuing decay. Depending on the extent of tooth destruction, various treatments can be used to restore teeth to proper form, function, and aesthetics, but there is no known method to regenerate large amounts of tooth structure. Instead, dental health organizations advocate preventive and prophylactic measures, such as regular oral hygiene and dietary modifications, to avoid dental caries.
Though more than 95% of trapped food is left packed between teeth after every meal or snack, over 80% of cavities develop inside pits and fissures in grooves on chewing surfaces where the brush cannot reach and there is no access for saliva and fluoride to neutralise acid and remineralise demineralised tooth. Few cavities occur where saliva has easy access.
Chewing fibre like celery after eating helps force saliva into trapped food to dilute carbohydrate like sugar, neutralise acid and remineralise demineralised teeth.[citation needed]
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