SDSU researcher to explore using dental plaque to strengthen soils

SDPB | By Cara Hetland,

Ellen Koester, Ari Jungemann

Published March 5, 2024 at 3:39 PM CST

This interview originally aired on "In the Moment" on SDPB Radio.

Cracked and crumbling soil can endanger the infrastructure built over it, including roads and bridges. Could a solution to fix these problematic soils be in your mouth?

We learn why Aritra Banerjee, Ph.D., at South Dakota State University is exploring adding bacteria from dental plaque to soil to strengthen it.

Dental plaque is a quick-hardening substance that binds like concrete to your teeth. Banerjee is experimenting to find strains of bacteria that would bind to soil molecules in a similar way.

Plus, we learn where he gets the plaque bacteria for the study.

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Cara Hetland

Cara Hetland is the Director of Radio and Journalism Content for South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

See stories by Cara Hetland

Ellen Koester

Ellen Koester served as a producer of "In the Moment," SDPB's daily news and culture broadcast.

See stories by Ellen Koester

Ari Jungemann

Ari Jungemann served as a producer of In the Moment, SDPB's daily news and culture broadcast.

See stories by Ari Jungemann

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SDSU researcher to explore using dental plaque to strengthen soils

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