The caries-preventive effect of arginine can be attributed to its ability to improve plaque pH stability, inhibit virulence factors of cariogenic pathogens, and modulate the oral microbiota toward a health-promoting microbial profile.
In this video presentation Dr. Wenyaun Shi, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of The Forsyth Institute, explains that about 40 years ago, researchers found that alkali generated by arginolytic bacteria through arginine catabolism can raise the pH of the oral biofilm microenvironment by neutralizing glycolytic acids, thus preventing an ecological microbial shift toward the acidogenic bacteria associated with tooth demineralization. Over the past several decades, increasing evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies has indicated that delivering exogenous arginine is a promising approach to prevent caries and even reverse the development of early lesions.
