You may have heard that tooth decay is caused by bacteria producing lactic acid. Let's consider that a little more deeply.

criteria for decay

To effectively cause cavities, bacteria must meet 4 criteria:

Anchoring (with special proteins) to either the tooth surface or something connected to it.
Biofilm production to trap nutrients and protect the bacteria.
Metabolism that produces acid, especially lactic acid.
Growth in acidic conditions.

Some of those can be done by different bacteria, but cavities are made most effectively when a single species can do all of them.

many species of bacteria exist

Converting glucose to lactic acid is one of the (biologically) easiest ways to get energy (ATP) from it. As such, lactic acid bacteria are one of the most common types, and as you may know, there are a lot of bacteria species [...]

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Outline:

(00:13) criteria for decay

(00:49) many species of bacteria exist

(01:25) Streptococcus mutans

(02:17) looking under the lamppost

(03:30) some other bacteria

(04:14) let them fight

(05:02) treatments

(05:08) chemicals

(05:11) hydrogen peroxide

(05:44) chlorhexidine

(06:17) anti-biofilm drugs

(06:44) enzymes

(07:58) dentin substitutes

(08:36) probiotics

(10:32) brush your teeth

(11:32) eat less sucrose?

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First published:
September 30th, 2024

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5QFGBFt7wXv4ekWKh/on-bacteria-on-teeth

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“on bacteria, on teeth” by bhauth

LessWrong (30+ Karma)