Cavities are permanently damaged areas in the hard surface of your teeth that develop into tiny openings or holes. Cavities, also called tooth decay or caries, are caused by a combination of factors, including bacteria in your mouth; frequent snacking, sipping sugary drinks and not cleaning your teeth well. Tooth decay is a very common disorder. It most often occurs in children and young adults, but it can affect anyone. Tooth decay is a common cause of tooth loss in younger people. Bacteria are normally found in your mouth. These bacteria change foods, especially sugar and starch, into acids. Bacteria, acid, food pieces, and saliva combine in the mouth to form a sticky substance called plaque. Plaque sticks to the teeth. It is most common on the back molars, just above the gum line on all teeth, and at the edges of fillings. Dental cavities as a result of caries are a common ailment, and the improvement of treatment methods is a major issue in dentistry. Preparation of cavities prior to filling is done by removing necrotic, infected, and non-remineralizable tissue by means of mechanical drilling or laser techniques. In both methods, heating takes place. Moreover, there are also vibrations during mechanical drilling. This usually is painful for the patient, because heating and vibrations can stimulate the nerve. Moreover, these methods are often destructive; an excess of healthy tissue must be removed to ensure that the cavity is free of bacteria, and fractures can occur. Plasma, which is generated by an electrical discharge in a gas, contains free electrons and ions, various active species (e.g., atomic or molecular radicals such as O and OH, and excited molecules) and energetic UV photons. The sterilizing properties of plasmas are well-known. Non-thermal atmospheric plasmas operate at room temperature and do not cause pain and bulk destruction of the tissue. Plasmas can treat and sterilize irregular surfaces; therefore, they are very suitable for decontaminating dental cavities without drilling. The advantage of this novel tissue-saving treatment is that although the plasma itself is superficial, the active plasma species it produces can easily reach the inside of the cavity. In contrast to lasers, plasmas can access small irregular cavity and fissure spaces. Moreover, the use of plasmas is relatively inexpensive. Application of non-thermal plasmas in treatment of caries is a challenging, multidisciplinary research problem, requiring expertise from both plasma physics and dentistry. Recently, a novel plasma source, the plasma needle, has been developed. Because it is non-destructive for human tissues, it can be applied in vivo. We have demonstrated that the plasma does not cause significant heating of the dental pulp, and it has a good capability for killing bacteria.

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Sarah eve

Editorial Assistant

Journal of Oral Hygiene and Health