My hypothesis for this research project is that the longer the sugary material stays on teeth, the greater the growth of bacteria is in the mouth. To test my hypothesis, I designed and ran an experiment using sucrose to test for the bacterial growth in the mouth.
To do this experiment blood agar plates, sterile forceps, mouth wash, candy, and swab sticks were used in this experiment. I used blood agar plates because “blood agar is an enriched medium that supports the growth of fastidious microbes, because many pathogen including S.Mutan have special dietary needs. Blood agar contains extra nutrients such as whole blood, blood serum, certain vitamins, sugar and amino acid as mentioned in Medical microbiology lab manual written by our own faculty member
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My results of the baseline indicated that even right after brushing, flossing and rinsing my mouth there is still bacteria present in large amount and every hour it increased. With my own mouth’s bacteria there is also contamination (the white spots) which is also bacterial growth. The agar plate might have been contaminated during the experiment. It might have been contaminated from the swab sticks, breathing, or sneezing.
The results of my saliva and candy shows that bacteria in my increased rapidly every hour this is because S. mutans likes to feed on sugary food and this bacteria alone can’t do harm to the tooth but the specialty of S.mutans is that it produces lactic acid which erodes the enamel of the tooth causing tooth decay.
Now we know many cause of cavities. Now let’s look at the long term effect of gum disease. Which are gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth loss. Gingivitis is a mild form of gum diseases. The longer plaque remains on the teeth, the more harmful it becomes. As you can see in the picture, the bacteria on the gum line cause inflammation of the