Margolis H C, Moreno E C, Murphy B J
J Dent Res. 1985 May;64(5):786-92. doi: 10.1177/00220345850640050101.
Through the use of computer simulation, it is shown that anions of high pKA acids (e.g., acetic, propionic, butyric), present in resting plaque fluid, act as effective buffers during the production of stronger acids (e.g., lactic) by oral micro-organisms. Using reported organic acid compositions for plaque, obtained from caries-resistant and caries-susceptible individuals, analyzed at various times following sucrose exposure, it is shown that the calculated pH values of the aqueous phase of plaque describe typical Stephan curves. Furthermore, it is shown that for higher acid anion contents in resting plaque, a higher degree of saturation of the aqueous plaque phase with respect to enamel is maintained during acid production, resulting in a lower demineralization potential of plaque. Enamel demineralization experiments conducted in vitro confirmed the significance of the results of the computer simulations, thus providing evidence for a correlation between the known metabolic activity of plaque (organic acid composition), physical chemistry of plaque, and caries susceptibility.
通过计算机模拟表明，存在于静止菌斑液中的高pKA值酸（如乙酸、丙酸、丁酸）的阴离子，在口腔微生物产生较强酸（如乳酸）的过程中起到有效的缓冲作用。利用从患龋者和易感龋个体获得的、在蔗糖暴露后不同时间分析的菌斑中有机酸组成报告，结果表明菌斑水相的计算pH值描绘出典型的斯蒂芬曲线。此外，研究表明，对于静止菌斑中较高的酸阴离子含量，在产酸过程中菌斑水相对牙釉质的饱和度更高，导致菌斑的脱矿潜力更低。体外进行的牙釉质脱矿实验证实了计算机模拟结果的重要性，从而为菌斑的已知代谢活性（有机酸组成）、菌斑物理化学与龋齿易感性之间的相关性提供了证据。
