Archaea and tooth decay

Involvement of Archaea in Carious Disease

NA · Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille · NCT06787261

This project tests whether certain archaea in saliva and cavity tissue are linked to tooth decay in adults treated at the Timone dentistry clinic.

Quick facts

PhaseNA
Study typeInterventional
Enrollment200 (estimated)
Ages18 Years and up
SexAll
SponsorAssistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille (other)
Locations1 site (Marseille)
Trial IDNCT06787261 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The team will collect saliva and carious tissue samples from adult patients at the PROMOD - Timone Restorative and Preventive Dentistry unit and screen them for methanogenic archaea. Samples will be analyzed by culture and molecular methods using the group's dedicated archaea platform to identify and quantify archaeal species. Researchers will compare archaeal presence and load against each patient's individual caries risk profile to look for associations. The investigators bring prior experience culturing methanogens and have previously discovered human nanoarchaea, providing specialized laboratory capability for this work.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Adult patients under care at the PROMOD - Timone Restorative and Preventive Dentistry unit who can give written consent, are covered by social security, and have not used antibiotics in the past month or mouthwash in the past week are appropriate candidates.

Not a fit: Patients with periodontitis, minors, people under guardianship or deprived of liberty, pregnant or breastfeeding women, those who recently used antibiotics or mouthwash, or people who cannot read and understand French are not eligible and would not benefit from participation.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to improved prevention or targeted treatments for tooth decay by identifying archaeal contributors in the mouth.

How similar studies have performed: Archaea have been associated with periodontal disease in prior work, but their direct role in carious lesions has been little studied, making this approach relatively novel.

Eligibility criteria

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

* Male or female of legal age.
* Patient who is a beneficiary or entitled beneficiary of a social security
* Patient under the care of the Restorative and Preventive Dentistry of the PROMOD - Timone Dentistry Unit.
* Patients capable of giving written consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patient in a period of exclusion from another research protocol at the time of signing the consent form, Subjects covered by articles L1121-5 to 1121-8 of the Public Health public health code (minor patients, patients of full age under guardianship, patients deprived of their liberty, pregnant or breast-feeding), A person who does not have a sufficient command of reading and understanding of the French language to be able to consent to take part in the research Presence of periodontitis (gingivitis not being a criterion for a criterion for non-inclusion). Antibiotics taken in the previous month. Use of mouthwash in the previous 7 days.

Where this trial is running

Marseille

Study contacts

How to participate

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.

View on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Conditions: Dental Caries, Dental caries

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.