Evaluating the efficacy of osteopontin technology against complex oral biofilms.

Oral health is a significant burden and cost to society, with an estimated 10% of the global adult population suffering from gum-disease (periodontitis). Currently, the formation of periodontits-associated biofilms is prevented through brushing twice dailly. However, the oral microenvironment undergoes continuous fluctuations throughout the day - for example after eating or drinking - which impacts on the oral microbiota. This collaboration seeks to investigate whether osteopontin technology is effective in preventing oral biofilm formation. The active component (osteopontin) has been previously shown to reduce biofilm formation in isolation, but it has never been tested in a defined formula. We anticipate that daily dosing of oral biofilms using osteopontin technology will shift microbial composition. This will be investigated using a previously developed and published 10 species oral biofilm model using live/dead qPCR. All work will be conducted at GCU.