https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm Explaining oral microbes to beginners - how they initiate and progress dental diseases en-us 2022-02-26 18:59:48 UTC 2022-03-23 20:57:07 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f9a0.png kristin14scott https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071719981 I'm going to give you a brief education on some microbes, like fungi and viruses, and how they contribute to diseases in the mouth and teeth! ]]> 2022-03-01 15:39:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071719981 kristin14scott https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071722029    Everyone is pretty familiar with what a virus is by now. It is a pesky, tiny microbe that has the goal of infection! A virus is always looking for its next host, attaches to the host's living cells, and then starts to multiply. A virus called Coxsackievirus can cause some harm if it enters your mouth. 
   One disease it can cause it called Herpangina. When someone picks up Coxsackievirus, it presents as bumps on the back, soft portion of the palate that turn into ulcers - very painful! For about a week the person may have fever and sore throat, then the ulcers would burst.
   Coxsackievirus can also cause hand-foot-and-mouth-disease, which is more common in kids. The ulcerative bumps appear on the (you guessed it), hands, feet, and in the mouth (Miller, 2018). ]]> 2022-03-01 15:40:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071722029 kristin14scott https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071722242    When you think Fungi, you probably think "mushroom" or "mold". Well, those are forms of fungi! They also come in the form of yeasts, though this one is not the type you'd want to make bread with! Candida albicans is a little more tricky. It presents as a yeast or mold, and it lives in a lot of people's mouths naturally. It is pretty harmless... until your body lets its guard down. It takes advantage of vulnerable immune systems in newborns or sick people and strikes, starting to form disease (Miller, 2018).
   A disease it causes which you might be familiar with is oral thrush. When the person has a compromised immune system, the fungus makes its move and starts multiplying in the mouth. It's kind of gross to imagine, but it forms a layer of white lesions on the inner cheeks and on the tongue. The layer is hard to remove, and in adults it can even spread down the throat. Someone with thrush can lose their sense of taste, too (Taylor, 2021).]]> 2022-03-01 15:40:49 UTC https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071722242 kristin14scott https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071723260    Periodontal disease is an oral disease that affects both the gums and the bones of the mouth. It is essentially an accumulation of bacteria which eats away at the gums and bones, causing recession of the bone and gum levels, which can result in the loss of teeth. Periodontitis is an irreversible disease that can present in many different ways depending on the bacteria causing it (Miller, 2018). 
   One such bacteria is called Streptococcal sanguinis. This bacteria is abundant in the human mouth and usually helps maintain a normal, healthy mouth! But, it also plays a big part in the formation of plaque biofilm on the surface of the teeth if it is given enough saliva to cling to! Accumulation of this over time on the tooth surface, plus poor oral cleanliness and bad diet, invites more periodontitis-inducing pathogens to bind with the S.sanguinis. This binding will progress into a problematic gingivitis infection, which left untreated can become the irreversible periodontal disease (Zhu et al., 2018).
    A key player in Periodontitis is Fusobacterium nucleatum. F. nucleatum likes to live beneath the gums, and an abundance of it can lead to swelling of the gums and Chronic Periodontitis (Chen et al., 2022). Porphyromonas gingivalis is also associated with Chronic Periodontitis, which is the more "normal" type which isn't necessarily caused by other factors (HIV-periodontitis is directly related to a weak immune system because the person also has HIV) (Miller, 2018).
   Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is associated with Juvenile Perdiodontitis, which is periodontitis that presents in kids and young adults, which is not super common (Miller, 2018). 
   The role that Prevotella intermedia plays in the development of periodontitis is in the breaking down of tissues. It has the ability to eat away at the gums and bones using enzymes and acids (Dayakar et al., 2021).
   Tannerella forsythia does a lot of the same damage as its fellows above, and some even think it is more destructive than Streptococcus, though not enough research has been conducted for that to be conclusive. All competition aside, though, this pathogen has been found in greater numbers in people who are overweight, and in these individuals and others with an abundance of T. forsythia built up, they are at a greater risk for loss of clinical attachment (Sharma, 2010), which means that the pocket of the gums become deeper, creating more space for there periodontitis pathogens to accumulate!]]> 2022-03-01 15:41:16 UTC https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071723260 kristin14scott https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071723612    Cavities are caused by a variety of bacteria, and Streptococcus mutans is one of the most common ones that contributes to them forming.
   The reason that S. mutans is so proficient at forming cavities is because it is able to produce acids, survive in acidity, and it sticks to the teeth really well. So when we feed ourselves lots of carbs, we are essentially feeding the S. mutans sugar, which helps them to produce acid, which they live in happily whilst adhering nice and snug to our teeth. It doesn't help that carbs are so good, huh? (Miller, 2018) 
   So if the S. mutans is routinely producing this acid and accumulating on our teeth, and we aren't brushing or flossing enough to keep up with it, a process called demineralization starts. Simply put, demineralization is when the teeth start breaking down layer by layer, starting with the top layer called the enamel. A very similar process happens with Streptococcus sanguinis. If present in abundant amounts, there will be greater plaque formation and demineralizaiton, causing the onset of cavities.
   Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei play a big role in cavity development as well. Once there is an accumulation of Streptococci pathogens, then the door is open to the Lactobacilli, which thrive in the acidic environment that has been created on the tooth. They are really seated deep within the cavity and multiply to keep making the cavity more and more acidic, leading to more tooth decay (Miller, 2018).
   Another microbe that contribute to cavity formation is Actinomyces naeslundii and Actinomyces viscosus. The Actinomyces form plaque and often help cause cavities on the roots of teeth, beneath the surface (Miller, 2018).]]> 2022-03-01 15:41:28 UTC https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071723612 kristin14scott https://padlet.com/kristin14scott/ggf4yo4vxzqiqypm/wish/2071845026 <sub><sup>Chen, Y., Huang, Z., Tang, Z., Huang, Y., Huang, M., Liu, H., Ziebolz, D., Schmalz, G., Jia, B., & Zhao, J. (2022). More  than just a periodontal pathogen –the research progress on fusobacterium nucleatum. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.815318

Dayakar MM, Bhat S, Lakshmi KNB. Prevotella intermedia - An overview and its role in periodontitis. J Adv Clin Res Insights 2021; xx:1-4.</sup></sub>

<sub><sup>Miller, C. H. (2018). Characteristics of Microorganisms. In Infection control and management of hazardous materials for the dental team (6th ed., pp. 15). essay, Elsevier.

Miller, C. H. (2018). Oral Microbiology and Plaque-Associated Diseases. In Infection control and management of hazardous materials for the dental team (6th ed., p. 35-37). essay, Elsevier.

Miller, C. H. (2018). Oral and Respiratory Diseases. In Infection control and management of hazardous materials for the dental team (6th ed., pp. 53–54). essay, Elsevier.

Sharma A. (2010). Virulence mechanisms of Tannerella forsythia. Periodontology 2000, 54(1), 106–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0757.2009.00332.x

Taylor, M. (2021, July 25). Oral candidiasis. StatPearls [Internet]. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545282/

Zhu, B., Macleod, L. C., Kitten, T., & Xu, P. (2018, June 1). Streptococcus sanguinis biofilm formation & interaction with oral pathogens. Future microbiology. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6060398/</sup></sub> 

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