Salivary melatonin is depleted in patients with dental caries due to the elevated oxidative stress

Changes in the Composition of Unstimulated and Stimulated Saliva Due to Chewing Sour Cherry Gum and a Toothbrush Change

BACKGROUND

Our previous studies demonstrated that sour cherry anthocyanins (AC) reduce the salivary count of Streptococcus mutans and inhibit salivary amylase activity within 30 minutes after chewing AC gum. AC gum and changing toothbrushes after scaling reduced the Gram-negative species in the unstimulated salivary microbiota. The present study examined the effect of AC gums on salivary factors, including changes in microbiome.

METHODS

The study was conducted over three weeks with two groups; young adults (18-30) and adults (30-45). Ten participants changed their toothbrushes, while the other 10 participants did not change after the control period. After scaling, all participants received three doses of AC gum daily. The salivary mRNA and protein levels of cytokines, mucins, melatonin, and the microbiota of unstimulated and stimulated saliva were determined by polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

RESULTS

Significantly higher levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), mucin5B (MUC5B), mucin7 (MUC7), and melatonin were detected in stimulated saliva. Correlation analysis of these factors with the microbiota showed positive correlations with the genera Lachnospiraceae, Eikenella, Saccharibacteria_(TM7), Streptococcus, Prevotella, and Haemophilus.

CONCLUSIONS

AC chewing gum has a beneficial effect on the composition of the oral microbiome, and toothbrush replacement leads to changes in the levels of salivary pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Sleep and its association with dental caries or myopia in first graders

AIM

First grade is a transition from pre-school to school-age. The change in lifestyle behaviours such as sleep may have a physiological response, which contributes to the presence or absence of two highly incident diseases: dental caries or myopia. The aim of the study was to examine the association between sleep and myopia as well as sleep and dental caries in first graders.

DESIGN

It is a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

This was a recruitment phase of an interventional study. A total of 338 children whose caregivers completed a Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Caregivers also provided information regarding myopia and caries status of children and their parents. Binary logistic regression was applied to analyse the potential risk factors.

RESULTS

Dental caries and myopia rates were 45.9% and 9.5%, respectively. After adjusting for children's gender, children's age, fathers with caries and mothers with caries, the odds ratio for dental caries in children who slept less than 9 h when compared to those who slept for nine and more hours was 1.94. Mothers with caries were 3.37 times more likely to have children with caries than mothers without caries. However, sleep was not associated with myopia in first graders.

CONCLUSION

Sleeping less than 9 h and maternal caries were risk factors of children developing dental caries. Future sleep and myopia studies can be conducted on higher graders who may present prolonged exposure and accumulations of myopic risk factors.

IMPLICATIONS

Screening of children with insufficient sleep is needed for nurses to enable the early identification of high-risk groups for dental caries in school settings. Family nurses are encouraged to work with family members to implement tailored sleep interventions, in order to facilitate better sleep and oral health practices in both school and home settings.

REGISTRATION

This study protocol was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Registration number: Redacted).

Association between sleep duration and dental caries in a nationally representative U.S. population

BACKGROUND

Dental caries is considered one of the most prevalent chronic diseases worldwide despite all dental public health efforts. Short sleep duration has been established as a risk factor for several medical conditions. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between sleep duration and dental caries.

METHODS

Data were collected from the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative health survey conducted in the United States. Participants who completed sleep questionnaires were examined by dentists using standardized clinical criteria. Analysis was limited to Individuals aged ≥ 16 years with complete clinical oral examination data and who completed the sleep questionnaire (N = 5,205). The data were weighted to provide a national estimate, and multiple potential covariates were included in the analysis to account for the complex sample design. The main outcomes of the study were untreated dental caries and dental caries experience. The main predictor variables were average sleep hours/night and a binary variable with 7 h/night as a cut off. Multiple weighted Poisson and logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis that people with short sleep duration are more likely to exhibit dental caries.

RESULTS

This study showed a statistically significant negative relationship between sleep duration and dental caries amongst all weighted adjusted analyses conducted. For a one hour increase in average sleep hours, the Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) of having a dental caries experience might decrease by 0.86 (AOR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.75-0.98, P < 0.05). Individuals who reported an average sleep of ≥ 7 h were less likely to have a dental caries experience compared to individuals who reported an average sleep of < 7 h (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.33-0.82, P < 0.05). For a one hour increase in average sleep hours, the Adjusted Mean Ratio (AMR) of having a dental caries experience might decrease by 0.97 (AMR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.96-0.99, P < 0.05), and was lower for those who reported sleeping ≥ 7 h/night than individuals who reported sleeping < 7 h/night (AMR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.87-0.99, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Findings of this cross-sectional representative study of the U.S. population revealed a statistically significant negative association between sleep duration and dental caries. In this study, individuals who slept < 7 h/night were more likely to exhibit dental caries.