CAN there be a vaccine to prevent tooth decay? The answer is a resounding “yes”. The principle obviously is the same for all vaccination processes, since bacteria mainly cause tooth decay. This converts sugar to acid, which in turn erodes the susceptible enamel. Evidence has shown that the Cercopithecoid primates (monkeys), which are genetically closest to humans, can be vaccinated against tooth decay.
It is more than two decades since research scientists confirmed, clinically, the likelihood that people would be immunised against dental caries. Having long before proven that the bacterium Streptococcus mutans is the principal actor in tooth decay, a comprehensive effort was made to use its protein to elicit the production of antibodies (defensive substances in the blood specific to that protein).
Remember that immunisation is based on the immune system’s characteristic “memory”. So, if you introduce a weakened, inactivated, or even a partially virulent bacterium (antigen) into the body, this act can stimulate the immune system (cellular defence) to produce antibodies (chemical defence) without causing the actual disease. The body recognises the pathogen and destroys it. The same happens with measles, the flu, and chickenpox.
The concept of vaccination is simple. It is the administration of a vaccine to a person (or animal) to induce immunity to an infectious pathogen. The term (from Latin, “cow”) originally meant immunisation against smallpox, because the procedure started in 1796 when English physician Edward Jenner discovered that milkmaids who had contracted the mild disease cowpox were immune to smallpox. The development of the cowpox vaccine has since led to the production of vaccines against a wide range of diseases.
It seems that a few predominant factors have prevented a vaccine against tooth decay from being developed yet. On one hand, the American authorities have an extremely complex system in place whereby many hurdles must be passed before a drug can be tested in humans. Secondly, as a part of the first obstacle, the tremendous impact this would have on the dental profession has prolonged its consideration. Many see the introduction of a vaccine against tooth decay as the first step toward dentists going into virtual self-extinction.
Notwithstanding, no one can say with certainty what the real reason is as to why there is no vaccination to prevent tooth decay after so many years. We dentists speculate that the most likely reason is that millions of dentists, allied dental professionals, dental product manufacturers, laboratories, etc., would all eventually become irrelevant.
