Characterization of the in situ pellicle ultrastructure formed under the influence of bovine milk and milk protein isolates

Modification of the Lipid Profile of the Initial Oral Biofilm In Situ Using Linseed Oil as Mouthwash

“…Two hours after the mouthrinse with linseed oil, a subsurface pellicle was occasionally detected, and parts of the basal pellicle appeared slightly more electron dense. The affinity of lipids to bind amphiphilic molecules or proteins, respectively, and to therefore alter the ultrastructure of the in situ pellicle had been described earlier in case of mouthrinses with bovine milk [17]. However, considering the dynamics of dental biofilm formation and the salivary clearance, it remained uncertain if these pellicle modifications had any sustainable effect for more than 2 h. Furthermore, details on the type of lipids or fatty acids accumulated in the pellicle were preferable to possibly understand their impact on pellicle and initial bacterial biofilm formation.…”

“…Clearly, as had already been suggested earlier, lipids and lipophilic molecules must be regarded as essential components of the in situ pellicle at various formation times [19,20,33]. At the same time, it appears that a modification of the lipid components provided in the oral cavity may have a detectable effect on the pellicle's composition, structure, and functional properties [10,17,21]. However, only modern and highly sensitive analytical methods will give greater certainty about the actual integration of lipid components into the pellicle layer and their alteration due to remodeling processes.…”

“…Enamel slabs were obtained from the incisors of 2-year-old cattle, which are recognized as a suitable substitute for human enamel [28]. For in situ exposure, all enamel slabs were prepared as described in numerous previous publications [10,11,17,24]. The slabs' surfaces were wet-ground and polished according to a standardized protocol with up to 4000 grit abrasive paper, and the resulting smear layer was then removed by ultrasonication in 3% NaOCl for 3 min.…”

“…There are controversial data on the impact of oil mouthrinses on (bacterial) biofilm formation and erosion prevention under in vitro or in situ conditions [10,[14][15][16][17][18]. Nevertheless, lipids are still of considerable interest due to their lipophilic character [7].…”

“…Hydrophobic interactions are suggested to be a significant driving force for pellicle formation. The topical adsorption of lipophilic substances at the tooth surface after different lipid-containing mouthrinses was shown in a few in situ studies [7,10,17,19,21]. However, it remains uncertain whether and how the applied macromolecules are integrated into the in situ pellicle and whether the pellicle's composition, structural pattern and properties can be altered sustainably, for example, by mouthrinses with edible oils.…”