Saliva Really Does Help Protect Teeth From Cavities

Salivary mucins work to actively protect the teeth--what's otherwise known as the cariogenic bacterium. Now, recent findings published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology reveal that bolstering these native defenses could help to fight dental caries instead of simply relying on exogenous materials such as sealants and fluoride treatments.

Lead study author Erica Shapiro Frenkel of Harvard University and principal investigator Katharina Ribbeck, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in Cambridge, Mass., found that the body's natural defenses work in a better way to prevent tooth decay while relaying on external agents such as sealants and fluoride treatments.

"We focused on the effect of the salivary mucin, MUC5B on S. mutans attachment and biofilm formation because these are two key steps necessary for cavities to form," said Frenkel, via Medical News Today. "We found that salivary mucins don't alter S. mutans' growth or lead to bacterial killing over 24 hours," she added. "Instead, they limit biofilm formation by keeping S. mutans suspended in the liquid medium. This is particularly significant for S. mutans because it only causes cavities when it is attached, or in a biofilm on the tooth's surface."

Furthermore, she went to say that the oral microbiome is better preserved when naturally occurring species aren't killed. "The ideal situation is to simply attenuate bacterial virulence," she concluded.

Researchers said they believe that the research makes a fundamental contribution to scientific understanding of host-microbe interactions.