O-pH preliminary report: first-in-human clinical testing of oral biofilm pH using a non-contact optical probe

Measuring the activity of oral-bacteria in plaque, the sticky biofilm on enamel, can provide the presently lacking oral feedback to patients. We have developed O-pH, optical pH monitor that measures pH in the range of 4-7.5 and tested in vivo on 25 pediatric subjects (10-18 years) with high caries risk, 18 of these subjects had a dental cleaning within last two months and 7 didn’t have a cleaning in over 2 months. The average pH after a sugar rinse from regions of biofilm associated with caries was 5.8 and 0.5 units lower than the biofilm of sound enamel.