Caries & Periodontitis

 The objective of this study was to examine the influence of ozone on biofilm made up of caries decay and saliva/food rests. An “OzonyTron” by the company Mymed, run at level 5 (= 525 ppm O3) served as the ozone generator. The time of application was one application of 40 seconds with the probe and a cup-shaped silicone cap developed especially for caries therapy.

Decayed teeth were the raw material. After extraction they were put into a transport container filled with physiological sodium chloride solution. The following samples were taken by means of a steel drill (diameter 1.9 mm/0.075 in) and diamond separating discs: Group 1: Decayed tooth material from drilling (so-called swarf). Group 2: Tooth segments with non-treated caries media or profunda. Group 3: Tooth segments, prepared to the bottom of the softened area. Group 4: Tooth segments, prepared beyond the softened area into the discoloured, hard dentine.

In Image 1 (please see the Adobe Acrobat file link for the images), decayed dentine splinters were completely germ-free after ozone treatment. The image on the left illustrates the germ and fungus population of the agar dish. The Columbia Agar dish, which does not show any sign of population, is displayed in the image on the right. (Image 1 displays: Shaken mixture of dentine splinters and isotonic sodium chloride solution, 100 hrs incubation on Columbia Agar at 35° C/95° F, non-treated/40 sec ozone application.)

The graph below illustrates: Germ reduction in gingival pockets with probing depths of 8–9 mm/0.31–0.35 inches after a single ozone treatment with different application durations