Don’t you love how your teeth feel after you’ve brushed and flossed? Your tongue glides effortlessly across those smooth surfaces and your mouth feels squeaky clean. It’s the exact opposite when you wake up in the morning. Your teeth feel like they’re coated in…well, something.
That “something” is biofilm, another name for dental plaque.
Oral biofilms are communities of microorganisms that live together within a protective, sticky matrix. Think of them kind of like pond algae, another type of biofilm. Cleaning your teeth is like stirring through that algae until you see clear water again. Once you’ve disrupted the biofilm, your teeth feel smooth because those bacterial colonies have been scattered and need to start rebuilding their communities from scratch.
One of the main culprits in this process is S. mutans, a major player in the decay process. Not a picky eater, this bacterium can break down many different carbohydrates. Still, it especially loves sucrose (table sugar). When S. mutans processes it, it produces enzymes called glycosyltransferases (say that 5 times fast!), which create sticky, sugar-based substances. Those form that protective matrix – the actual biofilm structure in which the bacteria live, producing acids that wear down your tooth enamel, make the teeth sensitive and more vulnerable to cavities.
But it’s no match for ozone, as a new study in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering has shown.
To test the effectiveness of ozonated water against S. mutans, researchers used a model to simulate an oral environment and stimulate bacterial growth. They then treated the resulting biofilm with ozonated water twice daily for several days.
The results indicated that ozone water effectively eliminated S. mutans biofilms, with higher concentrations and longer treatment periods enhancing its efficacy.
The study showed that the ozonated water not only breaks down the protective matrix around the bacteria, weakening the structure of the whole community. It also damages cell membranes, causing leakage and reduced energy levels. Eventually, the bacteria are fully inactivated, facilitating removal of the biofilm.
Of course, many other studies have also demonstrated ozone’s power against an array of oral pathogens, even some that have developed antibiotic resistance.
And preventing and treating decay is just one of the ways in which we use ozone here in our office. Not only do we use it to treat oral infections of all kinds, including gum disease; ozone is the perfect irrigation solution for tooth extractions, dry sockets – even post-operative treatments to help reduce pain and inflammation. It’s able to reach and penetrate areas that no other antibiotic or disinfectant can reach, including decayed dentin, the dentinal tubules, and periodontal pockets.
It can even be used to reduce tooth sensitivity!
Learn more about the role ozone plays in our office.
