Biochemical and Micro-Analytical Methods

Abstract

Because of the small amounts of material available for study, investigations of plaque, caries lesions in enamel, and antibodies in saliva pose difficult challenges for investigators. Sophisticated biochemical and fluorescence techniques can now be used to investigate the microbial composition of plaque, thereby avoiding the need for tedious culturing techniques from single sites on tooth surfaces. A range of microchemical methodologies is available which greatly facilitates the analysis of plaque fluid, thereby enhancing our understanding of tooth-plaque interactions. The application of a range of novel physiochemical techniques should help to clarify our knowledge of the interactions involved in pellicle formation and elucidate the phenomena involved in the formation of the early caries lesion. A range of techniques is now available for the study of antibodies in saliva. These include ELISA, RIA, and solid-phase immunoassay. The application of these methodologies to the investigation of oral diseases should facilitate our understanding of the pathogenesis of dental maladies at the molecular level.