Microbiology Of Dental Caries Flashcards
What type surfaces permit heavy biofilm?
Non-shedding surfaces (teeth)
What type of relationship do bacteria have in health?
Beneficial & symbiotic
What’s cross-talk and its benefit?
- immunomodulation
- pro-inflammatory host responses
- promote balance of host microbes
If the oral bacteria are in disease, their relationship can be described as ____?
Dysbiotic
What causes plaque community stability?
Homeostatic mechanisms
What’re the 3 main factors that cause disease?
1 key oral microorganisms
2 environmental factors (cariogenic diet, poor OH, low saliva, F availability)
3 susceptibility host
Describe caries as a disease, and the type of bacteria (2x examples)
Multi factorial
Acidogenic
Acid-tolerating bacteria
- streptococcus mutans
- lactobacteria
What are 3 ways in which evidence for the role of microbes in the aetiology of caries & why they’re useful?
1 animal studies
- diet (some fed more cariogenic foods than others)
2 Human Epidemiology studies
- cross-sectional (cheap, only shows associations)
- longitudinal (shows ‘cause & effect’ relationships)
3 vaccinations
What are some problems in saying that pathogens are the main aetiological factor of caries?
- disease occurs at sites of mass Microbiota diversity
- pathogens can be found at healthy sites too
- multi-factorial nature of the disease
Dental plaque is natural and sometimes healthy to host, what makes it harmful?
Symbiotic relationship breaks down -> disease -> byssinosis
What did the Gnotobiotic Animal Studies prove?
That plaque bacterial causes caries
What’re the 2 most cariogenic species
Streptococcus mutans
S. Sobrinus
Can cariogenic bacteria be passed from mother to baby?
Yes
Health + major ecological pressure = dysbiosis
^ major ecological pressure is…
Frequent sugar intake
Reduced salivary rate
Acidic pH
What’re are the:
- specific plaque hypothesis
- non-specific plaque hypothesis
- certain pathogens cause disease
- many species have a role in the causing the disease
What does the ecological plaque hypothesis (extended caries ecological plaque hypothesis) state? (2)
- disease preventable & controllable
- direct inhibition of organisms
- promotion of symbiosis
- interference with factors that drive the dysbiosis
How does the ecological plaque hypothesis say disease is prevented/controlled by? (3)
- direct inhibition of causable organisms
- maintaining homeostasis
- interfere with things causing dysbiosis
In terms of caries, sugar is known as the…
Driver of dysbiosis
Expand on the following about sucrose:
1 sticky slime
2 food reserves
3 fermentation products
1 extracellular polymers (cause biofilm)
2 intracellular polymers used when dietary sugars are absent
3 lactic acid, energy, low pH
What’s the correlation between pH and Microbiota
Decrease in pH = increases % of cariogenic bacteria
What are the main 7 ways in controlling dental caries?
1-4 personal level
5 - biological level
6-7 possible preventative future methods
1 plaque control
2 F
3 sugar substitutes
4 antimicrobial & anti plaque agents
5 modify Microbiota
6 vaccination
7 passive immunisation
What’s the benefit of F in caries cases & to the oral cavity in general? (3)
- forms flurapatite
- remineralisation
- inhibitor of acid production
What’s the benefit of sugar substitutes?
- xylitol
- not metabolised into acids
- stimulates saliva
What’s the gold standard for antimicrobial & anti-plaque agents?
What’s the chemical called?
They can either be _____ or ______
- chlorohexidine
- triclosan
- bacteriocidal (kills bac) & bacteriostatic (prevent increase of bac)
