Daily biofilm control and oral health: consensus on the epidemiological challenge - Latin American Advisory Panel

Abstract

Our understanding of dental plaque biofilm has evolved since the nonspecific plaque hypothesis that considered plaque as a nonspecific mass of native microorganisms that, because of lack of oral hygiene, builds up in proportions great enough to overcome the host resistance threshold and affect the tooth structure and tooth supporting tissues. A great diversity of microorganisms-over 700 species-was detected in the oral cavity, and evidence shows that the investigation of specific microorganisms or associations of microorganisms as etiological agents for periodontal diseases and caries is not a simplistic approach. Although clinical evidence shows that oral mechanical hygiene is fundamental to prevent and control caries and periodontal disease, it is important to highlight that optimal control is not achieved by most individuals. Thus the complementary use of chemotherapeutic agents has been investigated as a way to overcome the deficiencies of mechanical oral hygiene habits, insofar as they reduce both plaque formation and gingival inflammation, and represent a valid strategy to change the biofilm and maintain dental and periodontal health. The role of the dental professional is to monitor patients and offer them the best recommendations to preserve oral health throughout their life. With this in mind, chemical control should be indicated as part of daily oral hygiene, together with mechanical procedures, for all individuals who present supragingival and/or subgingival biofilm, taking into account age, physical and/or psychological limitations, allergies, and other factors.

Perfil e percepção de diabéticos sobre a relação entre diabetes e doença periodontal

“…A literatura mostra que a doença periodontal, dentre outros fatores, está relacionada à higiene bucal deficiente 18 . Os pacientes diabéticos que participaram deste estudo não apresentavam hábitos satisfatórios de higiene bucal, haja vista que a maioria dos entrevistados relatou não usar o fio dental, corroborando com os resultados encontrados por Commisso et al 19 .…”

Influence of subinhibitory concentrations of extracts from Psidium cattleianum (Sabine) and Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemao) on mutans streptococci adhesion to glass and enamel surfaces.

“…Moreover, due to the structural complexity of oral biofilm, microbial physiological features in biofilms 5 , horizontal and vertical transference of mobile genetic determinants, the susceptibility of antimicrobial agents are very limited 6 . In addition, the benefits of the chemical control of dental biofilm are also transients, particularly in prolonged usage 7 and the advantages of chemical control of biofilm in caries prevention has been under scrutiny and side effects are significant and cannot be neglected 8 . The mutans streptococci are the most relevant bacterial group in the pathogenesis of dental caries in the smooth enamel surfaces and their relevance is particularly prominent in the initial steps of this disease.…”

“…In Brazil the biodiversity observed in the tropical forests and savannahs offers a wide variety of pharmacological and therapeutic compounds with intense activity on microbial biofilms, but only a small fraction of their pharmacological potential as sources of drugs has been under evaluation 16,17 . Moreover, since universally effective, low cost and accepted therapeutic approaches to control oral biofilm have not been established for low-income rural or urban populations 7 , studies to characterize natural products capable to reduce biofilm accumulation or the presence of targeted microbial species must be stimulated [18][19][20] . From the lists of plants recommended for control and prevention of dental caries, it is evident the relevance of plants of genus Psidium 18,19,[21][22][23] , which has been used as toothpaste to maintain the oral hygiene.…”

Assessment of Oral Hygiene Level and Periodontal Condition in Brazilian Adolescents

“…Despite being reversible, when the etiologic agent is only biofilm [4], a change in the balance between biofilm and host [3] can cause gingivitis to develop into periodontitis [5], which is a destructive process of connective tissue attached to the bone, whose clinical signs include progressive development of periodontal pockets and clinical attachment loss, culminating in tooth loss [1].…”