Methods of detecting and quantifying bacteria contained on or within chewing gum

1. A method of quantitating microorganisms contained on and within chewing gum, the method comprising

a) sonicating the chewing gum under conditions which remove the microorganism from the chewing gum and deposit the microorganism in a suspension,

b) contacting at least a portion of the suspension with a solid-support under conditions that promote colony formation, and

c) quantitating the colonies formed on the solid-support,

wherein the number of colonies indicates the total quantity of microorganisms selected from the group consisting of bacteria, virus, fungus and protozoa, contained on and within the chewing gum.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sonication is carried out in standardized dimensions.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of generating a standard curve to determine the quantity of microorganisms contained on and within the chewing gum.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bacteria is Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus oralis, Actinomyces naeslundii, Streptococcus sanguinis, Porphyromomas gingivalis, Porphymomas intermedia, Bacteroides forsythus, Tanneraella forsythia, Campylobacter rectus, Eubacerium nodatum, Peptostreptococcus micros, Streptococcus intermedius, Aggregetibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola, Lactobacillus, Eikenella corrodens, Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Streptococcus gordonii, Veillonella parvula, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, Lactobacillus salivarius, Streptococcus salivarius and Streptoococus sobrinus.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of diagnosing an infection in a mammalian subject,

wherein the chewing gum was in contact with the oral cavity of the subject, and

wherein the presence of a microorganism contained on or within the chewing gum is indicative of a infection in the subject.

6. An in vitro method of diagnosing an infection in the oral cavity of a mammalian subject, the method comprising detecting a microorganism contained on or within the chewing gum according to the method of claim 1 ,

wherein the chewing gum was in contact with the oral cavity of the subject, and

wherein the presence of the microorganism in the oral cavity is indicative of a bacterial infection in the subject.

7. An in vitro method of determining the susceptibility of a mammalian subject for developing an infection in the oral cavity, the method comprising

detecting a microorganism according to the method of claim 1 ,

wherein the chewing gum was in contact with the oral cavity of the mammal, and

wherein the presence of the microorganism in the oral cavity is indicative of increased susceptibility for an infection in the subject.

8. The method claim 7 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of

c) comparing the microorganism profile of the mammalian subject with a reference microorganism profile,

wherein the reference profile is indicative for increased susceptibility for a disease or disorder of the oral cavity, and

d) scoring the microorganism profile to determine whether the subject has increased susceptibility for a disease or disorder of the oral cavity.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising the step of quantitating the microorganisms contained on or within the chewing gum.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising generating a standard curve to quantify the microorganisms.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bacteria is Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus oralis, Actinomyces naeslundii, Streptococcus sanguinis, Porphyromomas gingivalis, Porphymomas intermedia, Bacteroides forsythus, Tanneraella forsythia, Campylobacter rectus, Eubacerium nodatum, Peptostreptococcus micros, Streptococcus intermedius, Aggregetibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola, Lactobacillus, Eikenella corrodens, Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Streptococcus gordonii, Veillonella parvula, Fusobacterium nucleatum , and Streptoococus sobrinus.