Posted on 06/13/2009 8:49:41 AM PDT by Reaganesque
Though it looks like a tiny purple blowtorch, a pencil-sized plume of plasma on the tip of a small probe remains at room temperature as it swiftly dismantles tough bacterial colonies deep inside a human tooth.
It’s not another futuristic product of George Lucas’ imagination—it’s the exciting work of USC School of Dentistry and USC Viterbi School of Engineering researchers looking for new ways to safely fight tenacious biofilm infections in patients.
Two of the study’s authors are Chunqi Jiang, a research assistant professor in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering-Electrophysics, and Parish Sedghizadeh, assistant professor of clinical dentistry and director of the USC Center for Biofilms. “Nanosecond Pulsed Plasma Dental Probe” appears in the June issue of Plasma Processes and Polymers.
Sedghizadeh explained that biofilms are complex colonies of bacteria suspended in a slimy matrix that grants them added protection from conventional antibiotics. Biofilms are responsible for many hard-to-fight infections in the mouth and elsewhere. But in the study, biofilms cultivated in the root canal of extracted human teeth were easily destroyed with the plasma dental probe, as evidenced by scanning electron microscope images of near-pristine tooth surfaces after plasma treatment.
Plasma, the fourth state of matter, consists of electrons, ions and neutral species and is the most common form found in space, stars and lightning, Jiang said. But while many natural plasmas are hot, or thermal, the probe developed for the study is a non-thermal, room-temperature plasma that’s safe to touch. The researchers placed temperature sensors on the extracted teeth before treatment and found that the temperature of the tooth increased just five degrees after 10 minutes of exposure to the plasma, Jiang said.
The cooler nature of the experimental plasma comes from its pulsed power supply. Instead of employing a steady stream of energy to the probe, the pulsed power supply sends 100-nanosecond pulses of several kilovolts to the probe once every millisecond, with an average power less than two watts, Jiang said.
“Atomic oxygen [a single atom of oxygen, instead of the more common O2 molecule] appears to be the antibacterial agent,” according to plasma emission spectroscopy obtained during the experiments, she said.
Sedghizadeh said the oxygen-free radicals might be disrupting the cellular membranes of the biofilms in order to cause their demise and that the plasma plume’s adjustable, fluid reach allowed the disinfection to occur even in the hardest-to-reach areas of the root canal. Given that preliminary research indicates that non-thermal plasma is safe for surrounding tissues, Sedghizadeh said he was optimistic about its future dental and medical uses.
“Plasma is the future,” Sedghizadeh said. “It’s been used before for other sterilization purposes but not for clinical medical applications, and we hope to be the first to apply it in a clinical setting.”
“We believe we’re the first team to apply plasma for biofilm disinfection in root canals,” Jiang added. “This collaboration is unique. We’re attacking frontier problems, and we’re happy to be broadening our fields.”
Of course I am talking about heart plaque, not teeth, but the same thing will probably happen here...won’t ever hear about this discovery again.
I use a combo of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to brush my teeth. I work them into a paste. Works great, kills plaque and keeps gums nice and tight.
Cool. Ping to send to my dentist.
I was using that, too. I still had gum problems until I found the e-thread trick. I had asked my dentist why I was having such problems and he basically said that some folks are just prone to gum disease. But not any more.
Btw- My local grocery store sells Aloe leave for 99 cents for a 2 footer. I cut out the gel in the center and roll that around in my mouth against the gums once in a while, it's great.
Swallow it and it will make the rest of your tube better also, the inner skin that you cut the gel out of can be rubbed on your skin, etc..
I want a new toothbrush....
I want a new toothbrush....
Sorry for the double post...but I don’t think I did it...
Well, aren’t you a sweetheart? :-) Thank you for the information.
I know our d-i-l would have loved to have had this information before she began to have such problems.
She was diagnosed with periodontal disease, then she fell down the stairs while carrying our youngest grandson.
He was just a few months old....she started down the stairs while carrying him and slipped, tumbled down and hit the wall with her face.
She was trying to keep from landing on top of our tiny grand baby, and injured herself terribly.
So, on top of having periodontal problems, she ended up having surgery for a broken jaw.
She’s had problems ever since.
Her teeth are loosening from the periodontal problems, plus, she can’t open her mouth very far at all, because of the break.
I will share this info with her.
Anyway...thank you. It sounds like we all need to do this flossing technique.:-)
“Cool Plasma” sounds like a wine cooler idea. ;’) Thanks Ernest.
Without significant pain, what’s the point?
My attorneys have advised me to neither confirm, deny, nor comment upon any relationship to any persons, real or imagined, that could be described as less than compassionate, lawful, and/or jovial.
Your secret is safe with me. ;-)
Honestly, I believe so. I think if folks were taught to do this as youngsters, widespread periodontal problems would disappear. This has made SUCH a huge difference for me and my wife that it is just astounding. Because I found the method late in life (early fifties), I have relatively deep pockets, and my gums have receded quite a bit. Since doing the peroxide/e-thread thing, the gum recession has stopped, and according to my dental tech, reversed just a bit. But of course, I'll never recover the lost ground. Wish I had found this in my twenties!!!
I have no doubt, you’re right about that. :-)
bmflr
Spoiled sport ... got stock in Crest Whiteners? LOL
thanks, bfl
Thanks for the ping.
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