(1 → 3)-α-d-Glucan hydrolases in dental biofilm prevention and control: A review

Dental plaque is a highly diverse biofilm, which has an important function in maintenance of oral and systemic health but in some conditions becomes a cause of oral diseases. In addition to mechanical plaque removal, current methods of dental plaque control involve the use of chemical agents against biofilm pathogens, which however, given the complexity of the oral microbiome, is not sufficiently effective. Hence, there is a need for development of new anti-biofilm approaches. Polysaccharides, especially (1 → 3),(1 → 6)-α-d-glucans, which are key structural and functional constituents of the biofilm matrix, seem to be a good target for future therapeutic strategies. In this review, we have focused on (1 → 3)-α-glucanases, which can limit the cariogenic properties of the dental plaque extracellular polysaccharides. These enzymes are not widely known and have not been exhaustively described in literature.