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UC Team Hopes to Stamp Out Tooth Decay

A team of researchers at the UCLA School of Dentistry is currently developing an innovative antimicrobial treatment that specifically targets and attacks the oral bacteria known to cause tooth decay and dental cavities.

The new technology is called “”S.T.A.M.P.,”” an acronym for “”specifically targeted antimicrobial peptides.”” Essentially, S.T.A.M.P.s are proteins that locate and destroy a particularly dangerous type of disease-causing oral bacteria. Although the use of the protein is still in its experimental stages, S.T.A.M.P. may one day help to thwart tooth decay altogether, along with various other types of infectious bacteria located in human mucosal membranes.

“”S.T.A.M.P. is unlike any of our current antimicrobial peptides because of its unique ability to specifically target and destroy disease-causing bacteria in the mouth,”” said Wenyuan Shi, senior author of the S.T.A.M.P. study at the UCLA School of Dentistry. “”It acts as a homing device to only attack pathogens responsible for causing tooth decay, leaving fluoride and other species of beneficial bacteria completely unharmed.””

According to Shi, there are at least 725 identified species of bacteria living in the typical human mouth; however, only a few of these are potentially harmful. S.T.A.M.P. targets one such harmful bacterium known as Streptococcus mutans, or S. mutans, which is believed to cause tooth decay and cavities.

S.T.A.M.P. works by using a short homing sequence of a unique signaling chemical that ensures that the protein finds its target. Once S.T.A.M.P. has reached the S. mutans bacterium, a small antimicrobial bomb, chemically linked to the homing sequence, kills the bacterium upon delivery.

“”Current methods such as brushing your teeth or taking antibiotics like amoxicillin are not entirely effective at fighting tooth decay because they kill all of the bacteria in the mouth, including useful bacteria that we actually need,”” said Randal Eckert, a lead scientist researching S.T.A.M.P. at UCLA School of Dentistry.

Shi added that another problem with the removal of all oral bacteria is that it leaves the area vulnerable for recolonization, during which the harmful bacteria always appear to grow back first.

Several dentists have voiced concerns regarding S.T.A.M.P.’s removal of S. mutans, and how the absence of such bacteria could potentially disrupt the community of micro-organisms in the mouth; however, Shi assures that there is nothing to be worried about.

“”We have discovered that about 20 percent of the human population doesn’t even have the S. mutans bacteria in their biofilms to begin with and they do just fine without it,”” he said. “”Besides, S. mutans is not a dominant strand of bacteria and it only became prevalent in biofilms around the time that sugarcane was introduced.””

Currently, laboratory trials have been greatly successful. Eckert reported that in a particular sample of oral biofilm composed of several hundred species of bacteria, S. mutans was completely eliminated within 30 seconds of application to the specimen while all of the other bacteria were intact.

S.T.A.M.P. will likely be marketed in about three to four years as a professional dental product in toothpastes and mouth rinses, according to Shi.

“”Ideally, I would eventually like for it to be marketed as a sugar-free lollipop for kids so as to curve the problem of tooth decay in young children,”” Shi said.

Aside from its potential power to prevent tooth decay, S.T.A.M.P. may have an even greater significance as a model for fighting many other types of disease-causing bacteria in the future, according to Eckert.

“”New models of S.T.A.M.P. could have a greater value in fighting other bacterial diseases in mucosal areas and could potentially even be used to treat sexually transmitted diseases, acne and a variety of other bacteria-related diseases in the future,”” Eckert said. “”All that is needed to fight different types of bacteria are the particular DNA sequences of the microbes, a unique homing sequence and the appropriate antimicrobial peptides.””

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