Abstract
Dental caries is the most common oral disease. The bacteriological aetiology of dental caries promotes the use of antibiotics or antimicrobial agents to prevent this type of oral infectious disease. Antibiotics have been developed for more than 80 years since Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, and systemic antibiotics have been used to treat dental caries for a long time. However, new types of antimicrobial agents have been developed to fight against dental caries. The purpose of this review is to focus on the application of systemic antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents with respect to their clinical use to date, including the history of their development, and their side effects, uses, structure types, and molecular mechanisms to promote a better understanding of the importance of microbial interactions in dental plaque and combinational treatments.
Highlights
Dental caries, or “tooth decay,” is the most prevalent chronic infectious disease in the oral cavity [1]
Bacteria are considered to be the primary factor among the four caries aetiologic factors. e primary evidence in support of this view can be traced back to the results of a number of classic experiments, such as (1) bacteria isolated from the oral cavity can demineralize the enamel and dentin in vitro; (2) in a hamster model, extensive caries can develop in erupted molars, while unerupted molars remain caries-free until they were exposed to the oral microbiota; and (3) germ-free rats failed to develop caries even when maintained on a cariogenic diet, while control animals developed extensive decay when fed the same diet
Many systemic antibiotics were not developed to treat oral bacteria or are not specific to treat oral diseases. e application of systemic antibiotics has gradually reduced during recent decades, with other antimicrobial agents having been developed to target oral bacteria that cause oral diseases, such as fluoride, chlorhexidine, quaternary ammonium salts, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)
Summary
“tooth decay,” is the most prevalent chronic infectious disease in the oral cavity [1]. According to a statistical data analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of dental caries is 60–80% in children and almost 100% in adult population [2]. E oral cavity forms a unique ecological niche for micro-organisms, most of which accumulate on dental surfaces to form dental plaque (oral biofilm). Cariogenic bacteria that can ferment carbohydrates to produce acid and further demineralize the tooth surfaces are the primary aetiologic agents of dental caries [3,4,5]. Streptococcus mutans, lactobacilli, Actinomyces spp. and some other anaerobic bacteria are considered to be the primary cariogenic agents involved in the development of dental caries [6]. Dental caries affects oral health, and correlates with some other system diseases, such as diabetes, indicating that the prevention and treatment of dental caries are important to mitigate this global health risk [8]
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