Elevated incidence of dental caries in a mouse model of cystic fibrosis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Dental caries is the single most prevalent and costly infectious disease worldwide, affecting more than 90% of the population in the U.S. The development of dental cavities requires the colonization of the tooth surface by acid-producing bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans. Saliva bicarbonate constitutes the main buffering system which neutralizes the pH fall generated by the plaque bacteria during sugar metabolism. We found that the saliva pH is severely decreased in a mouse model of cystic fibrosis disease (CF). Given the close relationship between pH and caries development, we hypothesized that caries incidence might be elevated in the mouse CF model.

Methodology/principal findings

We induced carious lesions in CF and wildtype mice by infecting their oral ca

SUBMITTER: Catalan MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3031584 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature