Plaque, plaque model systems and pH

Four interlocking lines of research carried out during the Directorship of Dr TW Cutress in the Dental Research Unit were: plaque urea metabolism, which led to the study of plaque pH responses and their control; development of plaque-like biofilm model systems; plaque mineralisation to calculus; and plaque demineralisation of tooth tissue in caries. New modes of regulation of oral bacterial urea metabolism and its role in the mouth were discovered, especially a role as a pH-rise factor and in mineralisation processes. The development of microcosm plaques, consortia of major plaque species, and of the multi-plaque artificial mouth with the ability to measure pH continuously, has substantiated the theory that plaque thickness and fluid flow are important in determining plaque pH. For the first time, formation of large pH gradients inside plaque have been demonstrated and plaque pH experimentally controlled. Plaque growth curves can be accurately measured and procedures established for measuring antiplaque and anticaries agents. These studies exemplify the value of the fundamental approach adopted by Dr Cutress--that integrated, basic, applied, and public-health lines of research reinforce each other.