Neutralising the harmful effects of dental biofilms by bacterial replacement therapy

龋齿是一种广泛存在的口腔疾病，卫生服务的治疗费用很高，并会导致患者疼痛和牙齿脱落。它是由牙齿和牙龈上的生物膜（俗称牙菌斑）中的口腔细菌产生酸引起的。刷牙可以减少这个问题，但许多人没有定期或彻底地刷牙。该项目将研究细菌替代疗法的应用，以含片的形式含有合适的益生菌菌株，以帮助在牙菌斑生物膜内形成抗龋环境。该项目将结合两家英国中小企业的优势，一家世界级的文化收集中心和一家领先的益生菌制造商。该项目将调查NCIMB文化记忆中的菌株，以研究它们创造新型生物膜以对抗龋齿的潜力。

Dental caries is a widespread oral disease that is costly for health services to treat, and causes pain and loss ofteeth to those affected. It is caused by production of acid by oral bacteria in biofilms on the teeth and gumscommonly known as dental plaque. Brushing teeth can reduce this problem, but many people do not do soregularly or thoroughly. This project will investigate the application of bacterial replacement therapy in theform of a lozenge containing a suitable probiotic strain to help develop an anti-caries environment within thedental plaque biofilm. The project will combine the strengths of two UK SMEs, a world class culture collectioncentre and a leading probiotics manufacturer. The project will investigate strains held within the NCIMB culturecollection for their potential to create novel biofilms to combat dental caries..