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My name is Rowan Thuss. For a period of 3 months, I was able to carry out my master thesis at the Advanced Dental Diagnostics (ADD) microbiological lab under the supervision of Dr. Hanneke de Valk. From the profile chosen for Periodontics in my Dentistry studies, I came into more contact with the microbiology of Periodontal Disease. My research supervisor Dr. M.M.F. Timmerman proposed to do a study in collaboration with Radboud umc and ADD. Before this research, microbiology didn't come to mind much. Microbiology does not receive much emphasis in the Dentistry study. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans was pretty much the only term that stuck, but only because it's a beautiful scrabble word. I have now completed my master thesis and I feel a lot more at home in microbiology. For my master thesis, I researched a microbiological test to investigate the flora in pockets of periodontal disease patients. This microbiological test was carried out on the basis of cultures, so that, in addition to the known paropathogens, attention was paid to the other flora.
Microorganisms and dentistry have everything to do with each other, but I had little idea. With ADD's expertise and knowledge, that changed rapidly. The white dots on nutrient media were given names and the scent of Candida albicans generated enthusiasm. The properties of bacteria and yeasts from the tests in combination with the disease periodontitis provided more understanding and knowledge of this disease. Microbiology changed from a piece of theory into vibrant soil full of bacteria and yeasts. This research has given me more depth and clarity about periodontal disease and has changed my view of microbiology. I now look at dentistry more from a microbiological point of view. One example is a patient with complaints on the palate under the prosthesis. The gingiva showed no abnormalities, but the lady said she had received four courses of antibiotics for cystitis. A breed identified Candida albicans, after which Mrs. could be treated in a targeted manner. It was with great pleasure that I carried out this research. I like to look at dentistry more from the point of view of microbiology because everything in dentistry is related to it. Many thanks to ADD for carrying out the research. Their years of knowledge about microbiology and microbiological tests were indispensable.
