caries vaccine???

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...oth-decay.html

Would be cool if it takes off. But the Dentists out of business line is bogus. That's like saying that Optometrists should have been out of business because LASIK came out.

Haha... the vaccine could stop the biofilm from forming on teeth? That's a good one. There are hundreds of bacterial species in the mouth.

Well if there's anything that I've learned from the 6,000 microbiology classes I've taken in dental school, it's that, well, lmaolollol at this article.

Surprisingly, this article is actually promising and has very strong leads, especially since it's being conducted at the Forsyth Institute.

I find it funny that no supporting data is offered with the article. All researchers have high hopes for their research and obviously want it to solve some problem in the real world. What percentage of research actually does?

Looking to the past and the role evolution has played it seems that this vaccine could only be a temporary solution.

Originally Posted by finchy86

I find it funny that no supporting data is offered with the article.

See attached. [J Dent Res. 2012 Mar;91(3):225-6. Epub 2011 Oct 25.]

Originally Posted by finchy86

All researchers have high hopes for their research and obviously want it to solve some problem in the real world. What percentage of research actually does?

Looking to the past and the role evolution has played it seems that this vaccine could only be a temporary solution.

Don't be so pessimistic although I also sympathize with you about how our income might be affected. We (dentists and researchers) are in this together for the betterment of mankind.

NIDCR thought they had a vaccine/treatment for S. Mutans 40 years ago. We're still waiting....

Originally Posted by diasIItema

NIDCR thought they had a vaccine/treatment for S. Mutans 40 years ago. We're still waiting....

These tabloid papers are just attention whores (for lack of a better word). The researcher expresses hope but no definite conclusion was made about any successful vaccine. The tabloid was basing its story off of a typical update about the current progress in caries vaccine. That's it. Nothing else.

"Some of the uncertainty about caries vaccine effectiveness
stems from our limited understanding of the influence which the
natural mucosal immune response has on the entry of cariogenic
mutans streptococci into the oral biofilm. Attempts to correlate
host antibody and caries levels have been problematic. Recently,
Nogueira and co-workers (2005) provided suggestive evidence
that salivary IgA antibody to certain virulence antigens delayed S.
mutans colonization in very young children. These potentially
protective responses theoretically could have been provoked
through antigenic stimulation by similar epitopes on earlier-colonizing
oral streptococci.
Dental caries vaccines, directed to key components of mutans
streptococcal colonization and enhanced by safe and effective
adjuvants and optimal delivery vehicles, are likely to be forthcoming.
Will these vaccines lower dental caries risk in children?
Effectiveness may be tied to immunization timing and a reduction
in environmental risk factors. For example, one strategy
may be to immunize prior to permanent acquisition of cariogenic
S. mutans early in childhood. Ultimately, clinical trials of
immunologically superior dental caries vaccine formulations
will determine their usefulness for public health applications.
Although scientific, regulatory, and economic hurdles need to be
cleared to reach this goal, the potential benefit continues to
make the race worth running."

I think there were posts on this pretty recently.

Yeah, despite carries having a multifactoral etiology, S. mutans is necessary for the initiation of the vast majority of cases.

Because a single bacterium is responsible, it stands to reason that we will eventually suppress it. Whether the bacterium eventually overcomes the efforts put forth to suppress it would matter little to the generation of dentists who were practicing at the time the drug was introduced.

I guess the question is just whether you believe the treatment and delivery model will be developed soon enough to make a dental education unworthy of your time. I don't think it will. If you think differently, there is always medicine.