title: Reducing dental plaque formation and caries development. A review of current methods and implications for novel pharmaceuticals.
abstract: Dental caries is an oral disease, which has a high worldwide prevalence despite the availability of various prophylactic means, including the daily use of fluoride toothpastes, water fluoridation, dental sealants, oral health educational programs and various antiseptic mouth-rinses. One important reason for this is uncontrolled increase in consumption of foods containing considerable sucrose concentration, especially among children. Sucrose is easily metabolized by oral bacteria (mostly streptococci) to acids and, subsequently, causing tooth decay or dental caries. In the oral ecosystem, streptococci principally reside on tooth surfaces forming biofilm. Important structural and binding materials of biofilm are glucan polymers synthesized by several isoforms of glucosyltransferase enzyme present in certain species of oral bacteria, including mutans group streptococci - Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus, which preferably colonize humans. Thus, there is a constant need to develop the methods and chemotherapeutics for improving oral health care and decreasing teeth decay through the suppression of cariogenic biofilm formation in the oral cavity. The aim of this paper was to review literature related to the pathogenesis of dental caries as well as currently existing and experimental pharmaceutical substances used for prevention of this process.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Zalgirio str. 115, LT-08217 Vilnius, Lithuania. p.kalesinskas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Povilas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kalesinskas
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kačergius
authors.forename: Arvydas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ambrozaitis
authors.forename: Vytautė
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pečiulienė
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ericson
mesh_terms: D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects; D016986:Streptococcus sobrinus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D002327:Cariostatic Agents