Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello, for my science fair project I am working with mouth bacteria and I was wondering if working with bacteria from another's mouth can be dangerous and if there is a specific way to do it?

Hi Nadia
Working with others' mouth bacteria is not highly dangerous but there are some possible risks. You can learn more from this websites microbial safety guide:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... fety.shtml

The next thing I want to say is that because of the potential risks, you should consult with the people running your science fair regarding their rules for working with oral bacteria. You may need to provide your project proposal to the Institutional Review Board of the fair, and get their feedback regarding safety precautions. This may also lead to useful feedback for your experiment.

Thinking more about the risks, if the other person has a cold, sore throat, or flu their mouth could contain some of the bacteria that caused these illnesses. If some of those bacteria got into your body such as if you accidentally ingested or inhaled them, it could increase the chance that you got one of these illnesses. The kinds of actions you could take to reduce your risks of these kinds of exposures are similar to what you might see done in a doctors/dentists office or to prevent the spread of cold and flu in general. The following precautionary actions would reduce your potential exposure:

1. IMPORTANT: always wash your hands at least 30 seconds with soap and running water both before and after you work with the samples. wash your hands again before eating food and before/after using the bathroom. This is the most important precaution, and is an industry standard in medical settings
2. prior to sampling ask your subject if they have been sick in the recent past (e.g., last 7 days) or are currently sick. If they report yes, refrain from collecting the samples.
3. if you are currently sick or have been recently sick, do not perform the collections at that time. If you are currently sick, stay at home and rest!
4. collect samples with disposable items such as wooden "tongue depressors", and dispose of these when finished
5. wear disposable, non-toxic rubber gloves when working with or collecting samples
6. if any aspects of your procedure will put your face in close proximity to the bacteria, consider wearing a disposable mask approved by the FDA for prevention of cold/flu:
http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/mask
7. As I said above, before you get started with your experiment (or in any event, asap) consult with the board of your science fair regarding rules and guidelines for safely working with human bacteria.

The prevention of disease using measures like this, as well as prevention of tooth diseases using toothpaste vs. gum, as in your topic, are important research topics for everyone's health
Ben

Hi Nadia,

What exactly are you planning to look at with oral bacteria? What is your hypothesis? Ben gave you lots of good general information about working with humans in a science fair project, but I would like to insert one correction in the interest of scientific accuracy. The organisms that cause colds and influenza are NOT bacteria. They are viruses. The two things are very different and you should not confuse the two. You could still become infected by a person who has a respiratory virus so, as Ben says, be sure to always wash your hands, avoid touching your face and use hand sanitizer.

We can give you much better guidance in your project if you would just take the time to clearly outline the question you are asking, state your hypothesis and explain how you will test it. Those are the basic things for any science project and you should have them written down in your notebook before you start any experiments.

Post back and tell us what you are planning and we will help you make it a great project!

Sybee

Hi Nadia,

Ben has given you some great advice about working with bacteria for a science fair project, and I agree with SciB's correction that the infectious agents that cause colds and the flu are not bacteria, but viruses. However, of course, you should be careful if you are obtaining samples from people who are sick because you don't want to become sick yourself!

What kinds of questions are you planning to ask about oral bacteria? If you would like to brainstorm ideas about forming a hypothesis or discuss your proposed experimental procedures, feel free to write back with more details and we'd be glad to help!

Connie