Dental Biofilms: Detection and Quantification of Plaque

Attachment A:  Instructions for Students

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Supplies Needed:

•   a dental plaque disclosing agent such as Trace Disclosing Tablets
•   Quigley Hein plaque index (given below)

Instructions:
chew a Trace Disclosing Tablet

Estimating the amount of plaque

This index evaluates the plaque revealed on the cheek (buccal) side and the tongue (lingual) side of the teeth on a scale from 0 - 5 where:

The Quigley Hein plaque index

0 = no plaque
1 = isolated flecks of plaque near the gingival (gum) margin
2 = a 1 mm band of plaque at the gingival margin
3 = up to 1/3 of the surface covered with plaque
4 = disclosed plaque from 1/3 to 2/3 of the surface
5 = disclosed plaque on more than 2/3 of the surface

Illustration:


Figure 1.  Dental Disclosing Tablets
Photo credit: D. Williams

After chewing a Trace Disclosing Tablet, plaque on teeth can be easily seen.


Figure 2.  Teeth showing plaque stained by tablet.
Photo credit: D. Williams

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Educational Program Curricula and Teaching Resources
Supported in part by the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology
Developed in collaboration with Dr. John Lennox, Penn State University-Altoona
©1999-2008 Center for Biofilm Engineering, http://www.biofilm.montana.edu

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