Abstract
Current knowledge of the microbial composition of dental plaque in early gingivitis is based largely on microscopy and cultural methods, which do not provide a comprehensive description of oral microbial communities. This study used 454-pyrosequencing of the V1–V3 region of 16S rRNA genes (approximately 500 bp), and bacterial culture, to characterize the composition of plaque during the transition from periodontal health to gingivitis. A total of 20 healthy volunteers abstained from oral hygiene for two weeks, allowing plaque to accumulate and gingivitis to develop. Plaque samples were analyzed at baseline, and after one and two weeks. In addition, plaque samples from 20 chronic periodontitis patients were analyzed for cross-sectional comparison to the experimental gingivitis cohort. All of the healthy volunteers developed gingivitis after two weeks. Pyrosequencing yielded a final total of 344 267 sequences after filtering, with a mean length of 354 bases, that were clustered into an average of 299 species-level Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) per sample. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) plots revealed significant shifts in the bacterial community structure of plaque as gingivitis was induced, and community diversity increased significantly after two weeks. Changes in the relative abundance of OTUs during the transition from health to gingivitis were correlated to bleeding on probing (BoP) scores and resulted in the identification of new health- and gingivitis-associated taxa. Comparison of the healthy volunteers to the periodontitis patients also confirmed the association of a number of putative periodontal pathogens with chronic periodontitis. Taxa associated with gingivitis included Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. polymorphum, Lachnospiraceae [G-2] sp. HOT100, Lautropia sp. HOTA94, and Prevotella oulorum, whilst Rothia dentocariosa was associated with periodontal health. Further study of these taxa is warranted and may lead to new therapeutic approaches to prevent periodontal disease.
Highlights
Gingivitis is a reversible form of periodontal disease characterized by inflammation of the gingivae in response to a mature dental plaque biofilm
A two-sample t-test showed that periodontitis patients were significantly older than the experimental gingivitis group
This is the first study to use 454-pyrosequencing to examine the bacterial composition of dental plaque in experimental gingivitis, and one of few reported longitudinal investigations of the oral microbiome
Summary
Gingivitis is a reversible form of periodontal disease characterized by inflammation of the gingivae in response to a mature dental plaque biofilm. In susceptible individuals persistent gingivitis may lead to chronic periodontitis [1], which causes irreversible destruction of periodontal tissue. The major means of prevention are oral hygiene practices such as tooth brushing, interdental cleaning and the use of antimicrobial mouth rinses. Many individuals do not practice oral hygiene to a standard sufficient to prevent gingivitis and alternative preventive strategies are desirable. There has been interest in the potential for using probiotics or prebiotics that aim to promote periodontal health by maintaining plaque in a health-associated state [2,3,4]. The microbiota associated with chronic periodontitis has been investigated in more depth and was recently the subject of an extensive review [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
