Team:THIS-China/Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurial Inspiration

THIS-China presents entrepreneurial ideas on the detection of dental plaque, which involves the formation of large areas of bacteria in people’s mouths and on their teeth. This formation of bacteria, especially consistent ones, causes dental problems like caries and periodontal diseases. If this occurs, consequences can be large. Under moderate situations, one’s teeth surface and enamel would be eroded by the acid released by the bacteria when they consume sugar contents in our saliva. However, under more serious scenarios, the toxic component would stimulate gums, causing inflammation. If not treated immediately, it will develop into irreversible periodontal disease and cause teeth to fall off.

Thus, in order to detect dental plaque before it requires professional dentist treatments or results in irreversible consequences, our group presents S. Mutans Detecting Indicator. S. Mutans Detecting Indicator is a genetically engineered E.coli which can react to the presence of CSP, secreted by the harmful S mutans bacteria that creates the dental plaque, and express color once detected. Our solution provides people with easy access to a biological method of detecting dental plaque.

Product Description

Our main product would be a test tube with our engineered E. coli. The test tube contains a top section for mouthwash, a filter, and the E. coli will be located at the bottom. To use the product, samples of the human oral environment will first be extracted using mouthwash. The mouthwash will then be transported into the test tube, where large particles such as other bacteria will be filtered out while small particles like CSP will reach the engineered E. coli cells. The test tube will then be placed in a warm, 37 degrees environment, and the results will show in 24-48 hours. If dental plaque is detected, a clear color change in the E.coli-mouthwash solution will be visible to the naked eye. The color change will be from red to light yellow.

Market Research

1. Present Situation
   • Currently, there are no widespread ways to detect/predict dental plaque. There are only ways to detect dental plaque after it has already grown on one’s teeth. For instance, people can use the UV light technique or a plaque disclosing tablet to check if they have dental plaque, and then get treated by professional dentists.
   • However, if we cannot detect dental plaque before it forms, due to its tenacity, normal people cannot treat them or get rid of them easily through washing or brushing at home. Instead, it requires dentists to use professional machines with mechanical motion to remove them.
   • Currently, the only way to prevent dental plaque is to brush your teeth or use dental floss extremely carefully and frequently. However, people without enough dental knowledge do not know whether they’ve cleaned their teeth well enough. Sometimes, they spend a long time brushing their teeth but still have leftover bacteria in their oral cavity.
2. Example Competitors
   • A Chinese firm called DX health lab owns a product called dental plaque indicator. It is a liquid with deep color indication, and is used by smearing it on one’s teeth surface. Then, after around 30 seconds, the indicator would remain colored if bacteria is present, while other parts without bacteria would appear to be light colored.
   • Most of the indicator that is on the market now is not targeting specific bacteria; they can only sense the number of bacteria in your mouth, but are unable to specify which are harmful and which are beneficial.


Figure 1: The other product in the market.

3. Market Potential
   • Today, the public increasingly cares about their appearances, especially in important circumstances and events. Our teeth, being an essential feature on our face, are often exposed to other people under common situations: eating, smiling and speaking are all situations in which one’s teeth would be seen by others. Thus, with increasing awareness from people, the potential customer group would be large. Nearly everyone would want to ensure that they do not have any cavities, eroded teeth, or even falling teeth.
   • In addition, since dental plaque also cause people’s breath to smell bad, people who are aware of their appearances would care a lot about their breath and want to remove the smell. Thus, they also have the motivation to prevent dental plaque from forming.
   • According to research, almost everyone has the risk of getting dental plaque. Furthermore, a large amount of the population around the world figured that they didn’t brush their teeth properly after discovering solid dental plaque. However, at this point, the dental plaque is already irreversible.

Thus, there are large enough customer group for our product and it has the potential to meet many people’s preferences and needs.