This past week dozens of experts in microbiology, dentistry and infectious disease gathered in Rochester for a conference titled Rochester Conference on Oral Biology: Post-Genomics for the Oral Microbiome. Scientists do not know how many different microbes live in the human mouth but estimate between 500 and 1,000 species. How they interact with humans and what purpose they might serve in our over all health is also unknown. This conference looked at the genetics of these mouth dwellers and how such data can be used.
Most people experience a cary, a cavity, in a tooth at least once in their lives. One or more species of microbe that live in the human mouth is responsible, with the primary culprit being Streptococcus mutans. This bacteria lives on the food particles on and around out teeth, and secretes latic acid as a result. The acid eats away at the teeth. S. mutans is anaerobic, meaning that it does not need oxygen, so it lives deep in caries, deep below the gum line and other places where the air we breathe cannot reach.
The Holy Grail of dental research is a vaccine against caries. The problem is that the bacteria producing them do not live in the body, but on it. Vaccines in the body produce antibodies but these cannot reach the offending microbes. The S. Mutans bacteria must be treated by some sort of treatment that is applied to the mouth and teeth. Those treatments need to kill the bacteria but not injure the sensitive tissues of the mouth. That is a daunting task.
Studying the genetic makeup of this bacteria and its 499 to 999 friends that live in our mouths offers some hope. A treatment base on the genetic sequence of a particular bacteria will not affect other tissues. In time, scientists may produce a topical treatment for caries, or even be able to modify the microbe so that it no longer produces lactic acid.
Dental disease is serious. Gingivitis and periodontitis are infections that can result in tooth loss as well as provide vectors for other infections to enter the body. Tooth decay is another dental disease. Caries can also result in tooth loss. Proper digestion and the related absorbtion of nutriants is based on how well we chew our food, and tooth loss affects our health that way, as well.
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