Research has investigated microbial ecology of perio disease
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- Published: Tuesday, 30 August 2016 07:49
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An international team of researchers and clinicians has charted the microbial ecology of the mouth at all stages of this progression, in nearly 1,000 women in Malawi. This work is laying a foundation of knowledge that could lead to better oral health. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
The investigators used high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene to take the census of the oral microbiomes. Among much else, they found that a small number of species were associated with periodontitis, but not gingivitis, including members of the genera, Prevotella, Treponema, and Selemonas. "Our findings confirm that periodontitis cannot be considered simply an advanced stage of gingivitis, even when only considering supragingival plaque," said first author Liam Shaw, a PhD student at University College London, United Kingdom.
Periodontitis is diagnosed by measuring the depth of the pockets in the gums next to the teeth. "But diagnosing periodontitis visually is impossible and it doesn't usually give any symptoms until it has developed so far that teeth become mobile, which is very late for any treatment," said coauthor Ulla Harjunmaa, a dentist with a master's degree in international Health, who is a PhD student at the Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital, Finland.
Liam Shaw said: "The research made it possible to tell which differences in bacteria were linked specifically to the deepening of dental pockets - which causes loss of teeth - rather than just to bleeding gums. We're not the first to do this sort of research into periodontal disease, but our study is the largest to be done in such a setting. There is a great need to find new solutions to prevent these problems everywhere, but especially in this kind of setting. Oral infections are very common in Malawi, since there is little awareness about oral health and prevention, and little treatment available.”
Article: Distinguishing the Signals of Gingivitis and Periodontitis in Supragingival Plaque: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study in Malawi, Liam Shaw, Ulla Harjunmaa, Ronan Doyle, Simeon Mulewa, Davie Charlie, Ken Maleta, Robin Callard, A. Sarah Walker, Francois Balloux, Per Ashorn and Nigel Klein, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, doi: 10.1128/AEM.01756-16, published online 12 August 2016.
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