Recently, researchers at the University of Illinois in the United States designed a nanotechnology based application to detect and treat plaque and cavities caused by harmful bacteria.
When good bacteria and bad bacteria in the mouth become unbalanced, bad bacteria form sticky biofilms, or plaques, that can lead to cavities; if left untreated, it can also lead to cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and bacterial pneumonia. However, plaque in the mouth is invisible to the naked eye, and dentists often use dissolvable tablets or brush swabs to detect plaque in patients, which can't tell the difference between good bacteria and bad bacteria.
"Currently, detecting dental plaque in clinics is very subjective and depends only on the dentist's visual assessment." Dipanjan Pan, an associate professor of bioengineering and head of the research team at the University of Illinois, "Now, for the first time, we have demonstrated that regular dental X-ray machines can be used in clinics to look for bad bacterial populations and detect plaque as early as possible."
Pan and Doctoral student Fatemeh Ostadhossein has demonstrated a nontoxic, nanotechnology-based approach to developing a plaque detection probe, which is used in conjunction with common X-ray techniques to find specific bad bacteria, the streptococcus mutans. Besides that, they also showed that streptococcus mutans can be targeted to kill by adjusting the probe's chemical composition.
The probe consists of nanoparticles containing hafnium oxide (HfO2), a non-toxic metal that can be used in human clinical trials. It can identify the biochemical markers on the biofilm surface of streptococcus mutans, and also have the effect of killing streptococcus mutans. Pan envisaged that clinical dentists could apply probes to patients and use X-ray machines to accurately visualize the extent of biofilm plaque on teeth. If the plaque is severe, patients can be given toothpaste containing therapeutic HfO2 nanoparticles.
The researchers compared the ability of nanoparticles to the treatment of chlorhexidine, a drug currently used to eradicate biofilms. "HfO2 nanoparticles are more effective in killing bacteria and reducing plaque in cellular and rat trials." Ostadhossein said their new technology is safer than traditional treatments.
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