鹽滷減少牙菌斑生成之效果分析

齲齒是臨床牙科醫學中最廣泛觀察到的口腔疾病。其中，變形鏈球菌是引起齲齒的主要細菌之一。細菌藉由合成多醣粘液黏附在牙齒表面，同時其他口腔細菌亦藉此黏附在牙齒表面，形成牙齒表面的斑塊—牙菌斑，伴隨著細菌對碳水化合物的利用而產生酸性代謝物，並造成口腔環境酸化。酸度會損害牙釉質層並增強其他細菌對牙齒表面的破壞。因此，抑制變形鏈球菌的存在或防止其附著於牙齒表面，將有助於減少牙菌斑的形成，進而減緩齲齒的發生。鹽滷是製鹽業或是海水淡化的副產物，含有各種金屬離子且被認為能夠預防齲齒，但沒有完整的實驗數據支持。因此，本研究嘗試利用鹽滷所含高濃度離子的特性，針對變形鏈球菌菌落和生物膜形成，以及大鼠牙菌斑形成的影響。用濃度為19,600, 63,300和98,000 TDS（總固體溶解量）的鹽滷，分別與細菌同培養1、3、5和10分鐘，然後進行BHI瓊脂平板菌落分析。結果顯示，體外鹽滷處理5分鐘足以抑制細菌菌落密度和大小，以及對於生物膜形成和附著，所有測試濃度皆有抑制效果。此外，鹽滷有效地減少了大鼠動物模式中的牙菌斑形成。結果表明鹽滷可防止牙菌斑形成，並預防齲齒。

Dental caries is the most widely observed disease in clinical dental practice. Streptococcus mutants is the major bacteria to cause dental caries. The bacteria synthesize polysaccharide mucus to form dental plaques that attach on teeth surface, with concomitant production of acid metabolites from carbohydrates digestion. The acidity will damage the enamel layer, enhancing attachment of other bacteria on teeth surface. To inhibit Streptococcus mutans presence or block its attachment on teeth surface will help to reduce cavity formation. Bittern water, a byproduct of salt industry, contains various metal ions and has been regarded as agent for dental caries prevention, but without experimental data to support such activities. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effects of bittern water on colonization of in vitro Streptococcus mutans and biofilm formation and in vivo dental plaque formation. The bacteria were treated with bittern water with concentrations at 19600, 63300, and 98000 TDS (total dissolved solids) for 1, 3, 5, and 10 minutes respectively, followed by BHI agar plate streaking and colony assay. The results showed that in vitro bittern water treatment for 5 minutes was sufficient to inhibit the density of bacteria colony and size as well as biofilm formation and attachment with all the concentrations tested. Furthermore, bittern water effectively decreased dental plaque formation in a murine dental caries model. The present results indicate that bittern water may be used as a prophylactic agent to prevent dental caries formation.