Dental News - Research reveals the power of the body’s defense systems

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 1. October 2018

save

CLEVELAND, U.S.: Antibiotic resistance is becoming more of an issue in the dental and medical fields. With overprescription being one of the driving forces of this resistance, the natural capabilities of the human body to heal itself have been forgotten. However, a new study led by a team of Case Western Reserve University researchers has shown that the body's own microbes are effective in maintaining immune cells and killing certain oral infections.

Scientists have been aware for some time that the prescription of antibiotics can do more harm than good; however, research into things such as antibiotic resistance in oral health is still relatively limited. Dr. Pushpa Pandiyan, an assistant professor of biological sciences in Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental Medicine, led the team of researchers to examine resident bacteria, their fatty acids and their effect on certain types of white blood cells that combat infections in the mouth.

In a laboratory setting, researchers looked at the "short-term maintenance" of Tregs and Th17 cells in fighting fungal infections such as Candida. "We set out to find out what happens when you don't have bacteria to fight a fungal infection," Pandiyan said. "What we found was that antibiotics can kill short-chain fatty acids produced by the body's own good bacteria."

According to the study’s results, the researchers also found that those natural defenses were very effective in reducing infection and unwanted inflammation, and that antibiotics can prevent such natural defenses. Despite the results, Pandiyan was not ruling out the use of antibiotics altogether. "Of course, antibiotics are still needed for life-threatening infections. No question about that,” she said. However, she also noted that the body has good bacteria doing good work every day and that there is no need to kill them.

Looking to the future and what the possibilities might be going forward, Pandiyan said the study could have broader implications on the protective effects of resident microbiota in other types of infections.

The study, titled “Role of Short Chain Fatty Acids in Controlling Tregs and Immunopathology During Mucosal Infection,” was published in Frontiers in Microbiology on Aug. 24.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

New research reveals the role of preventive oral care in the UK

WEYBRIDGE, UK: Haleon, a British multinational consumer healthcare company, and the College of General Dentistry have recently conducted a survey that ...

The power of precision—Clarity Precision Grip Attachments

Soon after the mass adoption of clear aligners, it became apparent that a plastic shell did not provide sufficient purchase on the teeth for all movements. ...

Study proves the power of hypnosis

JENA, Germany: Funded by the German Research Foundation, psychologists from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany, along with colleagues from ...

The transformative power of AI in dentistry

When we think of artificial intelligence (AI), our minds often conjure up images of sentient humanoid robots from iconic science fiction films like 2001: A ...

Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence in dentistry

The power of artificial intelligence (AI) has great application not only in general healthcare but also in specialised fields such as dentistry. On 27 ...

The transformative power of artificial intelligence for aligner planning and management

Digital orthodontics has witnessed groundbreaking innovation that now enables the in-office design and production of aligners. DDP AI, software developed ...

Interview: “BlueM supports the body’s own healing process”

Awareness of the importance of oral care during pregnancy has been increasing, and this is also apparent in the dental products available today. Dutch ...

The effect of partial vacuum on the chemical preparation of the root canal system

From the early 20th century, when Walter Hess and Ernest Zürcher [1] demonstrated root canal anatomy with an unprecedented visual clarity, its complexity ...

University of Helsinki unlocks the power of digital dentistry with Planmeca

HELSINKI, Finland: In 2021, 50 dentistry students embarked on a learning journey within the new facilities of the Oral and Dental Centre at the University ...

The FAS Aligner System and the treatment of temporomandibular disorders

When there is alteration of any of the internal structures that make up the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), it can be said that we are facing possible ...

Education

Live webinar
Tue. 23 September 2025
10:00 am EST (New York)