Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able to ‘crawl’

Re:Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able... by NoPicklez on Monday October 10, 2022 @10:01PM (#33158636)

I actually had a dentist tell me this recently after a clean. That the only "good" thing about calcified tartar is that is does form a barrier.

But that we should prevent it accumulating in the first place and causing tooth damage.

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Re:Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able... by culi on Tuesday October 11, 2022 @12:03AM (#33159390)

This sounds similar to how not all biofilms are cariogenic and can actually play a lot of beneficial roles. We have a lot of evidence[0] that in the past we had a much more commensal microbiome but the shift to a more cariogenic one was actually rather recent. I feel like it's very likely that our oral microbiomes simply haven't had enough time to adapt to the massive shift in modern lifestyles and diet but used to play a mostly beneficial role in our health, much like our gut microbiome did. I mean just look at Google Pics of the teeth of wild monkeys and apes. Pearly whites! No dentist needed

[0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3996550/

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