A Method to Assess Cariogenic Potential of Foodstuffs

Bowen, William H.; Amsbaugh, S.M.; Monell-Torrens, S.; Brunelle, Janet A.; Kuzmiak-Jones, H.; Cole, Michael F.

doi:10.14219/jada.archive.1980.0211

Cited by 115 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In two separate tests, pure powdered sucrose, provided in 17 meals, induced lower caries scores (tooth fissures) than did chocolate cookies with soft filling (Bowen et al, 1980). In a second, more elaborate, study with this cookie (a starch-sucrose mixture), it was again found to be more cariogenic than pure sucrose (Bowen et at., 1983).…”

Section: Studies Of the Starch-caries Issue With Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The method of Bowen et al (1980) (Bowen et al, 1980). Studies of the starch-caries issue before the early 1970s involved mostly rodents with only their indigenous flora.…”

Section: Studies Of the Starch-caries Issue With Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, cooked maize and sorghum, both staple foods for black South Africans, have exhibited only a low-to-moderate cariogenic potential compared with a mixture of cooked wheat starch and sucrose (Schmid et al, 1987). Foods with a high-starch/low-sugar (1.5% or less) content, such as cereal, potato chips, French fries, corn chips, pretzels, or bread, can also induce high cariogenicity (Grenby, 1970;McDonald and Stookey, 1977;Bowen et al, 1980;Mundorff and Curzon, 1985;Mundorff et al, 1990).…”

Section: Studies Of the Starch-caries Issue With Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food Starches and Dental Caries

Lingström

Houte²,

Kashket³

2000

Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine

188

165

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Sucrose and starches are the predominant dietary carbohydrates in modern societies. While the causal relationship between sucrose and dental caries development is indisputable, the relationship between food starch and dental caries continues to be debated and is the topic of this review. The current view of dental caries etiology suggests that in-depth evaluation of the starch-caries relationship requires the consideration of several critical cariogenic determinants: (1) the intensity (i.e., the amount and frequency) of exposure of tooth surfaces to both sugars and starches, (2) the bioavailability of the starches, (3) the nature of the microbial flora of dental plaque, (4) the pH-lowering capacity of dental plaque, and (5) the flow rate of saliva. Studies of caries in animals, human plaque pH response, and enamel/dentin demineralization leave no doubt that processed food starches in modern human diets possess a significant cariogenic potential. However, the available studies with humans do not provide unequivocal data on their actual cariogenicity. In this regard, we found it helpful to distinguish between two types of situations. The first, exemplified by our forebears, people in developing countries, and special subject groups in more modern countries, is characterized by starch consumption in combination with a low sugar intake, an eating frequency which is essentially limited to two or three meals per day, and a low-to-negligible caries activity. The second, exemplified by people in the more modern societies, e.g., urban populations, is characterized by starch consumption in combination with significantly increased sugar consumption, an eating frequency of three or more times per day, and a significantly elevated caries activity. It is in the first situation that food starches do not appear to be particularly caries-inducive. However, their contribution to caries development in the second situation is uncertain and requires further clarification. Although food starches do not appear to be particularly caries inducive in the first situation, the possibility cannot be excluded that they contribute significantly to caries activity in modern human populations. The commonly used term "dietary starch content" is misleading, since it represents a large array of single manufactured and processed foods of widely varying composition and potential cariogenicity. Hence, increased focus on the cariogenicity of single starchy foods is warranted. Other aspects of starchy foods consumption, deserving greater attention, include the bioavailability of starches in processed foods, their retentive properties, also in relation to sugars present (starches as co-cariogens), their consumption frequency, the effect of hyposalivation on their cariogenicity, and their impact on root caries. The starch-caries issue is a very complex problem, and much remains uncertain. More focused studies are needed. At present, it appears premature to consider or promote food starches in modern diets as safe for teeth.

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Section: Studies Of the Starch-caries Issue With Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The method of Bowen et al (1980) (Bowen et al, 1980). Studies of the starch-caries issue before the early 1970s involved mostly rodents with only their indigenous flora.…”

Section: Studies Of the Starch-caries Issue With Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Studies Of the Starch-caries Issue With Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Food Starches and Dental Caries

Lingström

Houte²,

Kashket³

2000

Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine

188

165

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Interestingly, starch fermentation may be enhanced by prior exposure of plaque to sucrose (Dodds and Edgar, 1986). Also, sweetened starches (e.g., cookies and sweetened cereals) are more cariogenic in rats than sucrose alone (Bowen et al, 1981). These observations may be explained by a synergistic effect between starch and sucrose or that sweetened starch is more retentive than sucrose alone.…”

Section: Role Of A-amylase In Dental Cariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary α-Amylase: Role in Dental Plaque and Caries Formation

Scannapieco

Torres

Levine

1993

Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine

238

163

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Salivary a-amylase, one of the most plentiful components in human saliva, has at least three distinct biological functions. The enzymatic activity of a-amylase undoubtedly plays a role in carbohydrate digestion. Amylase in solution binds with high affinity to a selected group of oral streptococci, a function that may contribute to bacterial clearance and nutrition. The fact that a-amylase is also found in acquired enamel pellicle suggests a role in the adhesion of a-amylase-binding bacteria. All of these biological activities seem to depend on an intact enzyme conformation. Binding of a-amylase to bacteria and teeth may have important implications for dental plaque and caries formation. a-Amylase bound to bacteria in plaque may facilitate dietary starch hydrolysis to provide additional glucose for metabolism by plaque microorganisms in close proximity to the tooth surface. The resulting lactic acid produced may be added to the pool of acid in plaque to contribute to tooth demineralization.

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“…Starches are an important source of fermentable carbohydrate and are usually consumed simultaneously with sucrose in modern societies. The combination of starch and sucrose is highly cariogenic in vivo (1,10,33) and may enhance the pathogenicity of biofilms in humans (30).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and Molecular Basis of the Role of Starch and Sucrose in Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Development

Klein

Duarte

Xiao

et al. 2009

Appl Environ Microbiol

140

200

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The interaction of sucrose and starch with bacterial glucosyltransferases and human salivary amylase may enhance the pathogenic potential of Streptococcus mutans within biofilms by influencing the structural organization of the extracellular matrix and modulating the expression of genes involved in exopolysaccharide synthesis and specific sugar transport and two-component systems.Oral diseases related to biofilms, such as dental caries, affect the majority of the world's population (27,34). Dental caries results from the interaction of specific bacteria and salivary constituents with dietary carbohydrates in the oral cavity; the appearance of biofilms on the tooth surface is the first clinical evidence of the diet-bacterium interaction. Sucrose is considered the "arch criminal" from the dietary standpoint because it is fermentable and also serves as a substrate for synthesis of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) in dental biofilm (2, 28). Starches are an important source of fermentable carbohydrate and are usually consumed simultaneously with sucrose in modern societies. The combination of starch and sucrose is highly cariogenic in vivo (1, 10, 33) and may enhance the pathogenicity of biofilms in humans (30).Streptococcus mutans is a key contributor to the formation of cariogenic biofilms; this bacterium (i) synthesizes large amounts of extracellular glucans and fructans from sucrose using several glucosyltransferases (Gtfs) and a fructosyltransferase, (ii) adheres tenaciously to glucan-coated surfaces, and (iii) is highly acidogenic and acid tolerant, which are critical virulence properties in the pathogenesis of dental caries (2, 29, 31). Glucans provide specific binding sites for bacterial colonization on the tooth surface and bulk and structural integrity to the extracellular matrix; thus, they are essential for the formation and accumulation of dental biofilms (2). In addition, starches can be digested by ␣-amylases to maltose, maltodextrins, and other oligosaccharides, some of which can be acceptors during glucan synthesis by Gtfs (11,12,35). Starch hydrolysates produced by salivary ␣-amylases bound to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite (sHA) increased, in the presence of sucrose, the synthesis of structurally distinctive glucans by surface-adsorbed GtfB (35).Moreover, maltose and maltodextrins resulting from starch hydrolysis can be catabolized in acids by S. mutans (4). In this study, we investigated whether biochemical reactions involving interactions between specific host (␣-amylase) and bacterium-derived (Gtfs) enzymes and dietary carbohydrates (starch and sucrose) influence (i) the biochemical and structural properties of the EPS matrix and (ii) trigger specific adaptive responses by S. mutans at the transcriptional level, resulting in a biofilm with enhanced virulence.Biofilms of S. mutans UA159 (ϭ ATCC 700610) were formed using our amylase-active sHA disk model (18). Biofilms were grown in buffered tryptone yeast extract broth (pH 7.0) containing (i) 1% (wt/vol) starch (soluble starch [80% amylopectin a...

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A Method to Assess Cariogenic Potential of Foodstuffs

Cited by 115 publications

References 5 publications

Food Starches and Dental Caries

Food Starches and Dental Caries

Salivary α-Amylase: Role in Dental Plaque and Caries Formation

Structural and Molecular Basis of the Role of Starch and Sucrose in Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Development

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