Bacterial Arrangement in Supragingival Biofilms
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 15
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- qualitatively analyze image data to determine the types of bacteria that directly interact with one another on the chip surface to understand community assembly during plaque accumulation
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Background:
- Dental plaque is a coating of bacteria on the teeth. It contributes to poor dental health and diseases such as gingivitis, cavities and periodontal disease. Researchers who study plaque know that many different types of oral bacteria stick to each other in test-tube experiments. However, it is not clear if these interactions occur in natural dental plaque. By studying how bacteria interact, researchers can better understand how bacteria come together and grow to form plaque.
Objectives:
- To look at how bacteria interact with one another to form dental plaque.
Eligibility:
- Healthy nonsmoking volunteers at least 18 years of age.
Design:
- Participants will be screened with a medical history and dental exam. They will also have dental impressions taken for a stent (a device similar to Invisalign(SqrRoot) braces).
- Participants will wear the stent for up to 8 hours a day on selected study visit days. It will contain enamel chips made from sterilized human teeth. The mouth bacteria will stick to the chips and grow. Chips will be taken out of the stent twice during these study visit days.
- Participants will have other study visits to provide saliva and plaque samples. They will also have gum swabs to collect bacteria.
- Some participants may have a second set of study visits. At these visits, they will chew gum to increase their saliva production. Afterwards, they will wear the stent with the enamel chips for 4 hours. Samples from the stent will be taken once on these study visit days.
Detailed Description
Dental caries and periodontal disease are closely associated with the oral biofilm known as dental plaque. Much is known about the makeup of this biofilm, especially at its early stage of development (i.e. up to 12 hrs following tooth cleaning). The primary initial colonizers are streptococci, and actinomyces. These bacteria coaggregate frequently with one another by a mechanism that involves binding of protein adhesins on the surface of one cell to complementary cell surface receptor polysaccharides (RPS) on streptococci.
Coaggregation profiles are known for a wide range of oral actinomyces and streptococci. However, despite the potential significance of these interactions in biofilm formation, little is known about their occurrence within oral biofilms in situ.
Objective
The objective of this study is to determine and compare the influence of coaggregation on the spatial organization of bacteria in supragingival dental plaque formed under conditions of normal salivary flow (Arm 1 of the protocol) or increased salivary flow (Arm 2 of the protocol).
Study Population
Study Design
- Study Type
- Observational
- Observational Model
- Case Only
- Time Perspective
- Other
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- Not provided
Exclusion Criteria
- Not provided
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
qualitatively analyze image data to determine the types of bacteria that directly interact with one another on the chip surface to understand community assembly during plaque accumulation
Time Frame: within 23 study visits
Bacteria will be isolated from chips and plaque samples. Molecular descriptions of total flora (from chips, plaque samples and gum swabs) will provide a list of bacteria present at the sampling time.
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported