,-

-Saliva: BEtHESr)A,

MD.-Genet-

One,Tough
'

and

Jifferentproportions from

Ca~ies .Fighter

duction 01 lactic and formic

ics .and sa~iva-which has an antlbac1enal def~nse system ,.thatthePent~gon canenvy"~. areimportantlactorsin fighting caries, reports a new study by the directoror clinical research at Colu'mbiaUniversity. Dr. Irwin D. Mandel, director of the center for clinical resc.lrch at the ~chool of dental and oral surge':Y' said i~ a lecture at the National Institute of Dl:nlul Reseurch that his findings rC!\Ulled froIII studiesof saliva, xcro:;tomia, caries resistanccund lipid!\. Dr. Mandel said his research rcvc;llcdthat a groupof salivary

Special t~ol co!lectlng parotid saliva. hard or soft tissue. Further tests also reveal that caries-rc!\istant adults may have an ad'fantage over others because of their genetic buckground, Dr. Mandel said.

proteins,w()rking with other

cl1mpolJ\.'nls (If suJiva. c;In have an immcJiatc ct"lcclon toothdecayhykillingor intcrfcring with themliitiplication of or;J) bacteria. Itl' ~xrlainedthat !\omcoflhe
I

In studying salivary lipids

and how the fatty elements affect or;J1health, Dr. Mandel found that caries-resistant pcopic .Ind lhosc who are susceptihIe to toothdecayh.lve"distinct differenccs"in the lipiJ content

the caries-sus\.cptible tesl group. "This appearslohave beneficial effects on the protective properties of macromolecules suchas mucin and on the pellicle in the caries-resistant group." Dr. Mandcl said. "It is readily.apparent why people with gross salivary insufficiency suffer difficulties with soft and hard tissues." For thosesuffering from xero!\tomia, the condition is not only "miserable" but it make!\ the p~tienthighly prone to caries, Dr. Mandel !\aid. "They arc ;JIsomore susceptible to lo!\s of tooth.!\Ubslunce from chemicalerosionand me. chanica I abra!\ion," he added.

acids--the strongest plaque acid with the greatestpotential for tooth demineralization.He saidcaries-resistant peoplehave more effective mechanisms, -generated through saliva, for neutralizing plaque acids and regulating plaquepH. "If indeedthere is a genetic Coillponentto caricsresistance, what is the pathw.lY for genetic expression'? Our goal wasto de-

"And unless exlra attention is

paid to oral hygiene thcre i!\ a grcatcr tendencyfor plaqueaccumulation with re!\ult.lnt in-

Collectingsubm.lndibular
saliv.l. scribe the phenomenon, idcntify ;JnJ characterizethe mole-

,
i

large moJc~ules contained in saliva can ;Jlsoclump onto aggrcg;Jtingbacteria, preventing Ihe hil(tt'ri;I fn)m stit'king to

of their saliva.Ind pellicle. He added th;Jt.overall, salivain a

caries-resistant tcst group cont.lined sigllificantly ie\\! lipids ,

creasein gingival inn3mmation, at least in !\ome patients.'.

Hi!\ studiesalsorc\fcalt'aricsre~i!'tanlpeople show les!' pro.

culcsinvolved andthen,hopefully, the molecular biol\ll!ists

could find the gene," he ;aid. . .