Optimised oral care through the manipulation of the oral biofilm

Optimised oral care through the manipulation of the oral biofilm
Oral care has traditionally been primarily concerned with the prevention of damage to teeth by removal of the bacteria which are thought to cause cavities by producing acid as a result of fermentation of food debris. A complementary approach is to remove the plaque where the bacteria reside and to limit their food supply by physical cleaning of teeth by brushing and rinsing. The primary procedure is brushing with toothbrush and paste supplemented by flossing and rinsing with an antimicrobial mouth rinse. Unfortunately oral bacteria are extremely robust and regrowth after cleaning occurs rapidly (as soon as a few hours).
In addition, these approaches are very non-specific and, as is evident from the continued occurrence of oral disease, not totally successful. In addition they do not specifically target other aspects of oral disease such as gum problems (gingivitis) except by removing bacteria which are only one causative agent of this outcome.
This project promulgates the premise that the best way of preventing pathogen growth in the oral cavity is by encouraging the growth of bacteria that contribute to a healthy environment and out-compete the pathogens thereby giving rise to a healthy biofilm which protects teeth from pathogen-containing biofilms and their progression into plaque. The tools that are used to achieve this centre around the use of specific molecules that are produced by bacteria as signal molecules to stimulate or prevent growth. Manipulation of these ‘quorum sensing’ molecules are part of an overall strategy to prevent oral disease before it becomes established through the optimization of the beneficial microbial population and its habitat, the biofilm.