Eradication of bacteria that are located in periodontal pockets is a daunting challenge to dentists and oral care professionals. Doxycycline or minocycline with scaling and root planing (S&RP) have been the mainstays, but the field urgently needs further advances in perio bacteria eradication. A high precision, photochemical implement that could be used simultaneously with S&RP would reduce or eliminate these problems. The development of a device for the precise delivery of reactive singlet oxygen would be a major breakthrough for periodontal photodynamic therapy (PDT). The device tip is superhydrophobic and capable of delivering singlet oxygen (a cytotoxic excited state of molecular oxygen) in a controllable fashion. The device offers precise delivery of singlet oxygen to hypoxic bacterial pockets, creating a highly-localized killing zone. We have developed an innovative superhydrophobic-tipped device, which can be inserted at the infection site. The tip discharges singlet oxygen at the infection site and nowhere else in the mouth. The objective of this proposal is to design device tips and validate their use in vitro with hypoxic mixed cultures and saliva biofilms.
A large market opportunity exists for an efficient and consumer friendly gum health therapy because of the critical and longstanding problem of periodontal diseases worldwide. The proposed project is the first step in development of a superhydrophobic surface (SHS) photodynamic therapy (PDT) that will add to the tools we have at present to treat anaerobic bacteria in perio pockets in general. The device is capable of delivering singlet oxygen in a highly localized and controllable fashion without the sensitizer coming in direct contact with the tissue. The objective of this proposal is to design superhydrophobic device tips and validate their use in vitro with mixed cultures (anaerobic P. gingivalis, B. forsythus, and F. nucleatum) and human saliva biofilms on hydroxyapatite discs.
