Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Levine M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3235478 | biostudies-literature | 2011
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
International journal of dentistry 20111129
Early childhood caries affects 28% of children aged 2-6 in the US and is not decreasing. There is a well-recognized need to identify susceptible children at birth. Caries-free adults neutralize bacterial acids in dental biofilms better than adults with severe caries. Saliva contains acidic and basic proline-rich proteins (PRPs) which attach to oral streptococci. The PRPs are encoded within a small region of chromosome 12. An acidic PRP allele (Db) protects Caucasian children from caries but is m ...[more]