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Less dental caries among secretor than among non‐secretors of blood group substance
Author(s) -
ARNEBERG PÅL,
KORNSTAD LEIF,
NORDBÖ HÅKON,
GJERMO PER
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
european journal of oral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.802
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1600-0722
pISSN - 0909-8836
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0722.1976.tb00505.x
Subject(s) - mucin , saliva , medicine , dental plaque , dentistry , blood group antigens , physiology , antigen , immunology , biology , pathology
– Salivary mucins can aggregate oral bacteria and are also constituents of pellicle and plaque. A, B, and H blood group antigens are present on the mucins of secretors only. These mucins have also been shown to contain more carbohydrate than non‐secretor mucins. The aim of the present study was to relate these genetically determined differences in mucin composition to caries prevalence. Data on blood group, secretor status, and caries prevalence was collected from 69 dental students. In all blood groups, the average caries prevalence was lower for secretors than for non‐secretors. The difference was more pronounced for smooth surface than for total surface prevalence. The secretors of blood group mucin A had the lowest caries prevalence. The results would be consistent with an impact of the mucin composition upon the caries prevalence, and possible mechanisms are discussed.