The 'sialo-microbial-dental complex' in oral health and disease

Annals of Anatomy = Anatomischer Anzeiger : Official Organ of the Anatomische Gesellschaft
John Kaidonis, G C Townsend

Abstract

Biofilms are naturally found in all wet environments including the oral structures of nearly all species. Human oral biofilms have existed since our earliest ancestors and have evolved symbiotically with the dentition over many millennia within a Palaeolithic, hunter-gatherer setting. Irrespective of the plant-animal ratio, it can be argued that the Palaeolithic diet was essentially acidic, and acted as a selective force for much of the evolution of the stomatognathic system. The relationship between saliva, biofilm and teeth, the 'sialo-microbial-dental complex', provides oral health benefits and offers a different perspective to the old dental paradigm that only associated oral biofilms (plaque) with disease (caries). This new paradigm emphasises that oral biofilms are essential for the 'mineral maintenance' of teeth. Oral biofilms provide physical protection from dietary acid and together with bacterial metabolic acids cause the resting pH of the biofilm to fall below neutral. This is then followed by the re-establishment of a neutral environment by chemical interactions mediated by the saliva within the biofilm. Such pH fluctuations are often responsible for the cyclic demineralisation, then remineralisation of teeth, a pro...Continue Reading

References

Dec 16, 1998·Australian Dental Journal·E J BellL Richards
Feb 24, 2005·Journal of Dentistry·B T Amaechi, S M Higham
Jul 10, 2009·Journal of Dental Research·P Hujoel
Jan 1, 2010·The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition·Alexander StröhleAnthony Sebastian
Oct 7, 2010·Journal of Dental Research·N Takahashi, B Nyvad
Jan 11, 2013·International Journal of Dentistry·John A KaidonisGrant C Townsend

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Citations

Apr 21, 2016·European Journal of Dentistry·Vellore Kannan Gopinath
Jul 4, 2018·Oral Diseases·Kausar Sadia FakhruddinLakshman Perera Samaranayake
Sep 5, 2018·European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry : Official Journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry·J VillavicencioL M Villegas

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