Indian-American professor and doctoral student use novel approach to detect and treat oral plaque

News India (Aug. 21) --  team of researchers from the U. of I. has recently devised a practical nanotechnology-based method for detecting and treating the harmful bacteria that cause plaque and lead to tooth decay and other detrimental conditions. “Presently in the clinic, detection of dental plaque is highly subjective and only depends on the dentist’s visual evaluation,” says Dipanjan Pan, a professor of bioengineering and head of the research team. “We have demonstrated for the first time that early detection of dental plaque in the clinic is possible using the regular intraoral X-ray machine which can seek out harmful bacteria populations.”