Subject plaque composition

First, we describe the chemical composition of plaque fluid in relation to caries, then the role of plaque structure. Next, we discuss the influence of F retained in plaque, including site-to-site differences, followed by the effect of treatments that seek to deposit plaque calcium (Ca) and/or inorganic phosphate (Pi). A combination of small sample volumes and low constituent concentrations typically leads to high measurement variability that results, in turn, with authors often having difficulty in discriminating between subject groups. 

Further work is required in order to confirm the intuitively reasonable belief that a more composite measure, such as the DS of plaque fluid calculated by Margolis et al. and discussed in section 6.2, is a more applicable (inorganic) parameter for assessing, for example, caries risk. To date, little work has been done and those studies that have been reported have, for practical reasons, invariably used small numbers of subjects and often pooled plaque samples. The availability of semi-automated micro-analytical techniques, such as capillary electrophoresis, and the development of micro-electrodes, for example, those ofVogel et al., should enable researchers to analyse site-specific samples more easily. 

Angjoscopy This method can readily detect ruptured plaques and yellow plaques in their earlier stages. However, the method for determining the subluminal composition of plaques appears to be subjective and is therefore of limited prognostic value. ... 

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