Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Roy Russell
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Dental plaque is a complex biofilm containing several hundred different species of bacteria. While these are normally harmless commensals, shifts in the population structure can lead to the plaque-related diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease. Surface polysaccharides are important in coaggregation reactions that bind particular species together and aid colonisation and metabolic interaction while sucrose-derived glucans and fructans have a significant effect on plaque properties. Fructans serve as an extracellular energy store while glucans contribute to adhesion, modify the permeability of plaque and alter ion-binding capacity and thus have a powerful influence on the creation of conditions in plaque that can lead to dental caries.
Author(s): Russell RRB
Editor(s): Ullrich M
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future Trends
Year: 2009
Pages: 143-158
Publisher: Caister Academic Press
Place Published: Norfolk
URL: http://www.horizonpress.com/polysaccharides
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9781904455455
