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Bacterial Arrangement on the Teeth

NCT01712672 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 15

Last updated 2025-07-30

No results posted yet for this study

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.

Conditions

  • Dental Plaque
  • Oral Health
  • Periodontal Disease and Caries
  • Periodontal Disease

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

    lead NIH

Principal Investigators

  • Niki M Moutsopoulos, D.D.S. · National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2013-01-16
Primary Completion
2016-01-07
Completion
2016-01-07

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01712672 on ClinicalTrials.gov