earticle

영어

This study aims to identify molecules that may act as a protective against the growth of biofilm formation prevalent in tooth decay. Four types of popular drinks: soft drinks, fruit based drinks, energy drinks, and ion drinks, were exposed to the surface of the tooth to see the influence on biofilm growth. It is commonly believed that high intake of sugar causes tooth decay. However, evidence from this research suggests that there are other variables that work as catalysts in the formation of biofilm. Surprisingly, energy drinks showed the least degree of biofilm formation and Streptococcus mutans growth while soft drinks and ion drinks showed relatively high growth in both S. mutans and biofilm. Therefore, this study focused on two main ingredients in energy drinks to be suppressants of biofilm development: vitamin B and caffeine. Further research eliminated vitamin B as one of the major factors that suppress biofilm formation. The result was similar for caffeine. It was only when both the vitamin B and caffeine were combined that they successfully suppressed biofilm formation on the surface of the tooth. This study thus uncovered that the main ingredients in various drinks that could either trigger or suppress the growth of both biofilm and S. mutans. Using this information, further research could be conducted to most determine the most efficiently use of vitamin B and caffeine to potentially develop a sound protective against tooth decay.