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- Title
Salivary proteins and its effects on dental caries – A review.
- Authors
Devarajan, Harish; Somasundaram, Sujatha
- Abstract
The aim of this review is to determine the relationship between salivary proteins and dental caries. Caries is a common disease process that afflicts a large proportion of the child population worldwide. Extensive research in the past indicates that it is the result of bacterial infection, also influenced by host and dietary factors. The current caries research seeks to identify risk factors as well as natural oral defenses that may protect against or prevent caries development. Saliva, in spite of being the strongest defense system, still has a wide array of properties and proteins whose role is yet not clearly known. Saliva is essential for a lifelong conservation of the dentition. Various functions of saliva are implicated in the maintenance of oral health and the protection of our teeth: (1) The tooth surface is continuously protected against wear by a film of salivary mucins and proline-rich glycoprotein. (2) The early pellicle proteins, proline-rich proteins, and statherin promote remineralization of the enamel by attracting calcium ions. (3) Demineralization is retarded by the pellicle proteins, in concert with calcium and phosphate ions in saliva and in the plaque fluid. (4) Several salivary (glyco) proteins prevent the adherence of oral microorganisms to the enamel pellicle and inhibit their growth. (5) The salivary bicarbonate/carbonate buffer system is responsible for rapid neutralization of acids. This review summarizes the relationship between the dental caries and tooth protective salivary proteins with their potential as functional biomarkers for caries risk assessment.
- Publication
Drug Invention Today, 2019, Vol 11, Issue 6, p1406
- ISSN
0975-7619
- Publication type
Academic Journal