Controlling oral biofilms trough modulation of the commensal microbiota. An alternative for antiseptics?

Dental plaque is a bacterial biofilm which can lead to tooth decay and periodontitis. Not all bacteria in dental plaque contribute to these diseases as they will only develop when specific pathogens become numerically dominant in dental plaque. It should not be surprising that also these pathogens are becoming more and more resistant towards antibiotics but also to antiseptics. Therefore alternative treatment or preventive options should be explored. The outgrowth of pathogens during disease development is mirrored by a proportional reduction in certain beneficial/commensal bacteria. Although the mechanisms behind these changes are still unknown, H2O2 production seems to be of importance. Additionally, we have shown that certain substrates (prebiotics) can modify biofilm composition by stimulating commensal bacteria. Therefore this project aims at: (1) finding substrates that can be used by bacteria to increase H2O2 production, (2) Evaluate the effect of these substrates and of metabolic stimulation of beneficial commensal bacteria via prebiotics on biofilm composition, (3) virulence gene expression within biofilms and (4) inflammatory potential of modified biofilms. These aspects will be evaluated in 3 different clinically relevant biofilm models.