Chapter 11 Lab Exercises
Section 16 Dental Biofilms: Detection and Quantification of Plaque
Page 3 Student

Dental Biofilms: Detection and Quantification of Plaque

Student Version (go to Instructor Version)

Supplies Needed:

Quantity
Description
1 dental plaque disclosing agent such as Trace Disclosing Tablets
1 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:

Trace Disclosing Tablets
Permissions

D. Williams, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman

Figure 1.  Dental Disclosing Tablets

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

After chewing a Disclosing Tablet
Permissions

D. Williams, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman

Figure 2.  Teeth showing plaque stained by tablet

Educational Program Curricula and Teaching Resources

Supported in part by the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology
Developed in collaboration with Dr. John Lennox, Education Editor, Penn State Altoona
© 1999-2008 Center for Biofilm Engineering, http://www.biofilm.montana.edu