{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T14:16:13Z","timestamp":1782915373018,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,29]],"date-time":"2023-05-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1685318400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Chilean Government","award":["ANID\/Fondecyt 1210188"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ANID\/Fondecyt 1210188"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objective. Whether a minimum quantity of saliva inhibit the caries process remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the impact of saliva dilutions on an in vitro caries model using Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) biofilms. Methods. S. mutans biofilms were cultivated on enamel and root dentin slabs, in culture media containing different proportions of saliva (v\/v): 0%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% saliva, and exposed to a 10% sucrose solution (5 min, 3x\/day), with appropriate controls. After 5 (enamel) and 4 (dentin) days, demineralization, biomass, viable bacteria, and polysaccharide formation were analyzed. The acidogenicity of the spent media was monitored overtime. Each assay was performed in triplicate across two independent experiments (n = 6). Results. In both enamel and dentin, an inverse relationship was observed between acidogenicity, demineralization, and the proportion of saliva. Even small quantities of saliva incorporated into the media led to a noticeable reduction in enamel and dentin demineralization. Saliva presence resulted in significant reductions in biomass, viable S. mutans cells, and polysaccharides, with the effects being concentration-dependent for both tissues. Conclusions. High quantities of saliva can almost completely inhibit sucrose-induced cariogenicity, while even small amounts exhibit a dose-dependent caries-protective effect.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms11061426","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,29]],"date-time":"2023-05-29T03:39:36Z","timestamp":1685331576000},"page":"1426","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Saliva Decreases Sucrose-Induced Cariogenicity in an Experimental Biological Caries Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3362-5173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rodrigo A.","family":"Giacaman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"},{"name":"Interuniversity Center for Healthy Aging, Consortium of Chilean State Universities, Chilecito 03825, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rodrigo","family":"Uma\u00f1a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda Jos\u00e9","family":"Nu\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1220-015X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalia","family":"D\u00edaz-Garrido","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Constanza","family":"Echeverr\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natalia","family":"Garc\u00eda-Manr\u00edquez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9127-3877","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alex","family":"Mira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Genomics and Health Department, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research (FISABIO), 46020 Valencia, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Constanza E.","family":"Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karla","family":"Gambetta-Tessini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cariology Unit, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Talca, Talca 3462227, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1294-3677","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla P.","family":"Lozano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Biochemistry and Oral Biology, Institute for Research in Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile, Santiago 8330111, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"531","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02411299","article-title":"Equilibrium dialysis and ultrafiltration studies of calcium and phosphate binding by human salivary proteins. 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