Vaccines in the works to prevent tooth decay

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I got this on another list. I hope it is okay to post it here.

Vaccines in the works to prevent tooth decay

Children may no longer have to fear the sinister hum

of the dentist's drill. Researchers on both sides of the Atlantic are

working on vaccines that may protect against

tooth decay.

At Boston's Forsyth Institute, a nonprofit research

institute, scientists have developed a vaccine that contains a protein

made by the organisms that cause tooth

decay. When a person gets the vaccine, either by

nasal spray or nose drops, the protein stimulates an immune response in

the saliva that stops bacteria from

accumulating on the teeth.

The plan is to immunize children starting when

they're a year old (the age at which bacteria-produced plaque begins to

build on teeth), then follow up with another

immunization when adult teeth come in.

Clinical trials on a group of 18- to 24-year-olds

have shown the vaccine to be effective in warding off bacteria, and the

vaccine's developers say it is safe. " Much of the

concern with vaccines has to do with the fact that

they are living microorganisms, " says scientist J. , senior

member of the staff at the Institute. " Our

vaccine is just a protein, so it's a non-living

vaccine. "

Researchers at Guy's Hospital in London are working

on another immunization, one that uses a plant-based antibody to attack

tooth bacteria instead of human

antibodies.

What you can do

says it may be ten years before a dental

vaccine is widely available in the United States. In the meantime,

brushing teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste

is the best way to keep cavities at bay.

Read more about caring for your baby's or toddler's

teeth.

— By

http://www.babycenter.com/news/20010924.html#1179990