A growing body of evidence points to a link between iron-deficiency anemia and severe tooth decay. Now, research from the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that an FDA-approved therapy for iron-deficiency anemia also holds promise for treating, preventing, and even diagnosing dental decay. The therapeutic, a combination of an iron-oxide nanoparticle-containing solution called ferumoxytol and hydrogen peroxide, was applied to real tooth enamel placed in a denture-like appliance and worn by the study subjects.
The solution disrupts biofilms, particularly those formed by Streptococcus mutans, which cause caries, and it also reduced the extent of enamel decay. Other commensal bacteria normally found in the mouth were not affected by the ferumoxytol-hydrogen peroxide therapy.
In a final stage of the study, the researchers added a marker that turns blue when exposed to reactive oxygen species, like those generated by the catalysis of hydrogen peroxide by ferumoxytol nanoparticles. The team found that the intensity of blue labeling corresponded with acidic biofilms containing S. mutans.
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