New material may fight gum disease and decay.

A recent research has found that coarse grained small hydrophobic graphene sheets pierce through the phospholipid membrane and can wreak havoc with the membrane of bacteria. Once the bacteria membrane has been breached, the bacteria have difficulty functioning. While the material has the ability to thwart the growth of some bacterial strains, cells in mammals are not harmed. The research team specifically used the material to test different species of bacteria associated with tooth decay and gum disease. They concluded that graphene oxide limited the growth of pathogens by destroying the bacterial walls and membranes. For this reason, the researchers thought this material would be useful in dentistry.