PFI (MCA): Improving Dental Technology using Microbial Transplantation in the Mouth

The broader impact of this Partnerships for Innovation (Mid-Career Advancement) (PFI (MCA)) project is to develop a new dental technology that has the potential to improve oral health. This project will use dental plaque collected from healthy donors and test how it may be used in oral microbiome transplantation – that is, the movement of bacteria from the mouth of a healthy donor to someone who struggles with oral issues such as dental decay (caries) or gum disease (periodontal disease). Specifically, this project will test the introduction of different mixtures of beneficial microbes into the mouth of people with different diets, lifestyles, or diseases. The development of this technology will also support the career development of a woman faculty member-entrepreneur who will build a company. She will use her experiences to educate the public and other women who are interested in building their own companies. As a result, this project builds the foundation for development of a new technology that can be commercialized for the dentist’s office or for an at-home treatment to prevent dental decay and periodontal disease. This project will develop a new technology to improve oral health. Dental decay and periodontal disease are two of the most chronic diseases experienced globally. New technologies are needed to prevent and treat oral disease, especially treatments that help develop healthy microorganisms in the mouth. This project generates basic information on how donated dental plaque – with thousands of oral microbes – can be transplanted into someone who needs them to improve health. This research will examine how successful these microbial transplantations are in people who eat different foods, live different lifestyles, or suffer from different diseases. This research employs a new 3D printed system that can grow, propagate, and compete microorganisms from dental plaque in the laboratory to examine this problem. The project will inform how to match the correct donor to the right recipient and determine which microbes are best to transplant using a reproducible system in the laboratory. The results will be used to develop and commercialize this technology for dentists and people struggling with oral disease. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.