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Dental Chatter: Bacterial Cross‐Talk in the Biofilm of the Oral Cavity
Author(s) -
Steinberg Doron
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.201400143
Subject(s) - biofilm , streptococcus mutans , quorum sensing , bacteria , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , dental plaque , oral cavity , microorganism , virulence , adhesion , dentistry , biology , biochemistry , genetics , medicine , organic chemistry , gene
Dental biofilms are composed of hundreds of bacterial species. These biofilms are diverse biological structures due to the heterogeneity of the many different types of supports in the oral cavity. The bacteria immobilized in these biofilms are exposed to rapid environmental changes such as pH, temperature, nutrition and anti‐plaque agents. One mode in which these bacteria adapt in the dental biofilm is by quorum sensing. This cell‐cell communication regulates diverse sets of adhesion modes, physiological changes, virulence properties, allowing the bacteria to persist in the dental biofilm under rapid environmental changes. In this review, we will concentrate mostly on the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans as one of the pivotal microorganisms in the supra‐gingival biofilm that plays a major role in dental caries.