Means in which Microbes that cause cavity Invade the Heart
Scientists have uncovered the means by which cavity causing bacteria use to attack the heart tissue causing detrimental infections that are at times lethal to the heart tissue. These infections are referred to as endocarditic and basically affect the heart tissue.
The research creates the necessity of inventing a screening tool to assist in monitoring dental patient’s susceptibility to this condition. The discovery of the main protein that aids the Streptococcus mutans bacteria to gain access to the heart tissue was made by microbiologists at the Medical University of Rochester. The bacterium is responsible for causing cavity by releasing acids that corrodes the teeth.
The bacteria basically reside in the oral region but in some instances especially after flossing, the bacterium enters the blood stream and makes its way to the blood tissue. The substances contained causes adverse damage to the heart tissue mostly causing inflammation of the valves, a condition that may turn out to be fatal.
On most occasions, when the bacterium gets into the blood stream, they are usually destroyed by the guard cells. So how do they make their way to the heart tissue? The S. mutan bacteria are assisted to gain access to the heart tissue by the proteins responsible for collagen-binding usually referred to as the CNM. According to the research results the strains that contained the CNM proteins were the only ones able to get to the heart.
This research is vital since it will enable the doctors to prevent the bacteria from traveling to the heart tissue therefore preventing the valve inflammatory infections caused by the bacteria. It can also be used by doctors to determine the vulnerability of the patient to getting heart problems that are attributed to the S. mutan bacteria.