The immune system can contribute to tooth decay and cavities

The immune system of a person can play an important role in the formation of his teeth
to break down and their fillings to fail, a new study says.
Doctors have long accused bacteria of tooth decay, but research suggests that it is not just microbes that eat away at pearly whites.
Neutrophils, a type of immune cells responsible for eliminating tooth infections in humans
, can cause more damage to affected sites than the bacteria they were supposed to destroy.
"Nobody would believe that our immune system would play a role in creating caries," he said.
Yoav Finer, Associate Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto. "Now we have evidence."
Oral immune system
When the body detects a bacterial infection in the teeth, it sends neutrophils to search for and destroy the evil microbes. They often go into the oral cavity through gums located around the root of the teeth.
Once they have found their target, they attack the infection until they eliminate it from the body. However, in their enthusiasm to do their job, they can damage their host's teeth even more than microbes.
Finer compared that to the use of a flyweight to crush a single fly on the wall, which is roughly the way neutrophils destroy bacteria.
Immune cells alone can not damage teeth. Finer said that they can not mineralize tooth structures because they do not produce acids.
However, when neutrophils attack bacteria, the action results in the production of harmful acids that can demineralize teeth. Enzymes in immune cells and microbes eat teeth, causing long-term damage and even disrupting color fillings.
All the destruction of pearly whites can occur almost instantly, with researchers noticing damaging dentin fillings and colored fillings in just a few hours.
Michael Glogauer, Acting Chief Dental Officer of the Princess Margaret Cancer Center and co-author of the study, said the process was a "destructive collaboration" with different motivations.
Failed colored fillings
The University of Toronto study is also trying to understand why dental fillings often do not repair cavities. Most patients who have undergone this procedure still develop cavities in the next five to seven years.
This document is the first of its kind to show how neutrophils can destroy colored fillings and damage dentin. It helps to establish a link between immune cells and tooth decay and the recurrence of cavities.
What is tooth decay?
Tooth decay is caused
according to an badociation of bacterial infection and accumulation of sugary and starchy foods and drinks in the teeth, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The microbes use these substances to produce acids that can damage the enamel or hard surface of the teeth.
The bacteria acids will continue to eat away at the enamel until the teeth are completely exposed. A white spot will appear in the tooth area where it has lost much of its minerals. This is considered the early sign of tooth decay.
Teeth can replace lost enamel using minerals found in saliva and fluoride
of toothpaste. However, if nothing is done to stop the decomposition process, the teeth develop permanent damage called cavities.
The results of the University of Toronto study are presented
in the magazine Acta Biomaterialia
.