A new system using artificial calculus to analyze the roughness of dental materials
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Abstract
Periodontitis is a primary oral disease that can cause teeth loss. Home care is needed to prevent periodontitis, such as daily brushing using toothpaste, mouthwash, and other teeth-cleaning tools. However, we still need clarification on 1) whether periodontitis is caused by dental calculus and 2) whether commercial mouthwash or toothpaste can effectively inhibit the growth of oral bacteria in dental plaque that causes periodontitis. Therefore, we are interested in the formation and role of calculus around teeth. Since it is difficult to use human calculus, and the commercial artificial calculus (Dental Calculus Set, Nissin Dental Products INC) cannot be inoculated with bacteria due to its specific function, we tried to find an artificial calculus that can mimic and act as a human calculus. Recently, we discovered that whole milk can be stably solidified on teeth under certain conditions. We hypothesize that the solid whole milk can be used as an artificial calculus to understand and study the formation of dental plaque; the degree of roughness of dental materials may affect the formation of calculus and accumulation of cells on the surfaces adjacent to oral soft tissues and its effect on the progression of periodontitis and corresponding prevention and treatment. As aim one, we used 5 µl whole milk with 1 µl of Aluminum chloride hydrate to examine the Milk Artificial Calculus (MAC) time length to form at 37°C. We mixed it with E. coli and tested the cell survival over 1,5,10 days at room temperature, then checked the effectiveness under different treatments at 37°C overnight like mouthwash, three different concentrations of alcohol (35%, 70%, and 100%), nine types of toothpaste, and different pH percentage (3.5%-9%). As aim two, we tested the effect of dental provisional, permanent, and removable prosthetic polymer materials with varying degrees of roughness on calculus and cell adhesion.
Our results show that the Milk Artificial Calculus (MAC) dried and formed around 10 minutes, and cells can survive up to 10 days at room temperature. There was no significant difference in the number of cell growth between different alcohol concentrations compared to the control; only one of the nine toothpastes significantly suppressed the cell growth compared to the power, and only 3.5 pH percentage has a significant difference compared to the control. MAC can be used as a good and reliable substitute for calculus. Although the roughness of materials tested here is similar (0.32-0.37µm), their resistance to MAC builds up or cell adhesion differs. A dental material with a lower level of roughness is more effective in resisting the formation of MAC and the adhesion of cells.
In conclusion, Milk Artificial Calculus (MAC) can mimic human calculus because it can attach to teeth and other dental materials. It is reliable, cheap, and easy to make and use—cell survival for up to 10 days with different treatments. In general, mouthwash, 70% ethanol, or various toothpastes can’t suppress cell survival in the milk-formed artificial calculus.
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2026