Abstract
ObjectivesThis study investigated the relationship between urease and arginine deiminase system (ADS) activities and dental caries through a cross-sectional study.Material and MethodsUrease and ADS activities were measured in saliva and plaque samples from 10 caries-free subjects and 13 caries-active. Urease activity was obtained from the ammonia produced by incubation of plaque and saliva samples in urea. ADS activity was obtained from the ammonia generated by the arginine-HCl and Tris-maleate buffer. Specific activity was defined as micromoles of ammonia per minute per milligram of protein. Shapiro-Wilk statistical test was used to analyze the distribution of the data, and Mann-Whitney test was used to determine the significance of the data.ResultsThe specific urease activity in saliva and plaque was significantly higher in individuals with low DMFT scores. ADS activity in saliva (6.050 vs 1.350, p=0.0154) and plaque (8.830 vs 1.210, p=0.025) was also higher in individuals with low DMFT scores.ConclusionsCaries-free subjects had a higher ammonia generation activity by urease and arginine deiminase system for both saliva and plaque samples than low caries-active subjects. High levels of alkali production in oral environment were related to caries-free subjects.
Highlights
Dental caries is the most prevalent oral disease, comprising almost 100% of the world population, generating an epidemiological problem in all countries27
The question is: is there a relationship between oral alkali production by specific bacterial strains dental in biofilm and saliva and dental caries? For this, we propose the following hypothesis: increased production of alkaline substances by dental biofilm bacterial strains and saliva is associated with low incidence of dental caries lesions
The results indicate that the urease activity in saliva (3.024 vs 0.437, p=0.010) and plaque (18.120 vs 0.370, p=0.033) were significantly higher for caries-free subjects
Summary
Dental caries is the most prevalent oral disease, comprising almost 100% of the world population, generating an epidemiological problem in all countries. The transition from oral health to such disease is characterized by compositional and metabolic changes of the oral biofilm . 5,23 Factors recognized as having more influence over composition and activity of oral biofilm, and over its pathogenic potential, are pH, source and availability of nutritional substances such as carbohydrates. A new approach in caries research is focused on the fact that alkali generation from salivary substrates, like urea and arginine, may play an important role in biofilm pH, homeostasis and in inhibiting dental caries. The two primary sources of alkali generation in dental plaque and saliva are through the hydrolysis of urea by urease enzymes and the metabolism of arginine by the arginine deiminase system (ADS). Caries risk may be associated with the loss of alkali generation potential
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