Bitter aftertaste of sweet tooth

Press, 23 June 1986, Page 11

Bitter aftertaste of sweet tooth

Word of Mouth

By DESMOND SMITH, 8.D.5., D.D.P.H;'

Rotten teeth are caused by eating too many lollies. Everybody knows that, and the way to avoid them is to control your sweet tooth. So that is that — or is it? The back-room boys have been working overtime on dental decay in all parts of the world. They tell us that carles (the official name for holes in the teeth) depends on three things: ® The strength of the tooth enamel; @ The diet in which we immerse our teeth, and © The germs in each person’s mouth. This last one is highly interesting, and goes back to experiments carried out in the 1960 s on guinea pigs which were kept in a sterile environment and fed much sugary food. They developed no decay at all, until a normally bred guinea pig (with all its naturally acquired germs) was introduced into the litter. After that, the original litter showed definite signs of cavities in their teeth. Researchers now believe that very young babies may well be given their initial dose of decayproducing germs by contact with their mother’s mouth, during the affec-

tionate hugs and kisses on which any child thrives. It would seem to provide a bleak prospect of the future happiness of the infant population if our researchers had left it at that. Fortunately, they have gone further and discovered that this original germ population, which goes by the awesome name of streptococcus mutans, can readily be kept under control in numbers and activity simply by controlling the frequency with which we eat anything sweet. Keeping the goodies confined to meal times and avoiding the sweet inbetweens, increases greatly the chances of decay-free teeth. Besides this knowledge, the dental scientists are seeking to find a vaccine which will control the germs in the mouth and prevent their action in plaque. Certainly, such a vaccine had been developed quite a few years ago, but it was found to be effective only against a specific strain of the bacteria, whereas many, many strains appear to cause decay. More recently, work in Australia, Britain and the United States has reportedly led to development of vaccines effective

against all types of decaycausing germs. In each' case, the alm is to stimulate the person’s own body into producing antibodies against the bacteria.

Information about the body's immune system has been greatly enlarged by the efforts to carry out successful transplant operations, particularly for heart and kidneys.

In the case of the mouth area, the situation is complicated, because the function of the salivary glands in contributing to the immune system is not yet fully understood.

If research provides more answers here, we may have the key to controlling other diseases which start at nose and mouth entry points to the system. However, if all this does nothing else, it certainly helps us to realise that a person’s teeth truly belong to the body as a whole and, in turn, affect the body as a whole. It is unlikely that any future vaccine against dental decay would be universally given to all children, because of the fully satisfactory methods of controlling the disease presently employed. But it could be of real value for use in the case of those few unfortunate individuals with an unnaturally high mouth germ count. For the rest of us, it is back to the less glamorous, but just as effective, methods of preventing dental decay by controlling the tasty, sweet inbetweeners and by making correct use of fluoride in its various forms. Therein lies the way to sound teeth.