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Plasma Torch Disinfects Teeth

Eric Bland, Discovery News

It takes five to 10 minutes of cool, pulsed and purple plasma to clear an infected tooth of biofilms. Bleach, the conventional method for cleaning an infected tooth, takes 30 minutes. Even then, up to 10 percent of patients treated with bleach are still infected. Tests using the plasma torch on a few dozen human teeth have shown no signs of infection.

Other high-tech solutions to biofilms have existed for 10 years. Various laser systems can also clear away biofilms, but are expensive, costing up to $25,000.

If the plasma torch passes FDA clinical trials, which under ideal circumstances could happen within a year, the plasma torch could retail for as little as $1,000.

It could be even less than that, according to Laroussi, who has had a cold plasma torch costing less than $1000 since 2005, which he has used to test cold plasmas effect on teeth, skin and wound healing. The trick to FDA acceptance and commercialization is ensuring that only harmful cells are killed.

"We can kill bacteria on teeth and on wounds," said Laroussi. "But we have to ensure that we are not creating a worse problem in nearby healthy cells as well."

Initial tests have shown that surrounding healthy tissue remains intact, although more testing is needed to definitively prove this. In the meantime, the USC researchers are concentrating on getting the funding necessary to continue with their research.

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