Methods: The biofilms were treated with solutions of the different enzymatic preparations, and stained with Live/Dead kit and Crystal Violet. The corresponding fluorescence intensity (FI) and optical density (OD) were measured by a microplate reader.
A Prototype Philips AirFloss was used to burst the treated biofilms with high velocity water drops, and a high speed camera was used to visualize the detachment process which was quantified by analysing the resulting videos using ImageJ.
Results: The OD and FI results showed 50-60% degradation of the matrix by each enzyme. Using epifluorescence microscopy and digital image analysis techniques, quantitative measurements of the percent surface area coverage were obtained, and results were consistent with the data from the plate reader. Treating the remaining biofilm matrix (40-50% of the original biomass) with an AirFloss burst caused almost total removal of the biofilms from the interdental sites, as seen by the high speed camera. Areas of biofilms on the lingual/palatal surfaces of the teeth, which previously were able to survive a burst from the AirFloss and retained in such sites, were sufficiently degraded by the enzymes that they were fully detached.
Conclusions: The results detailed the degradation effect of each enzyme alone and in different combinations. The addition of the enzymes to the biofilm allowed total removal of the biofilms from the tooth surface by the AirFloss burst. Using the high speed camera we were able to demonstrate and quantify the different detachment processes of both the biofilms alone, and the biofilms treated with the enzymes, when exposed to the burst.