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    August 28, 2020
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THE MICROBES IN YOUR MOUTH, AND A REMINDER TO FLOSS AND GO TO THE DENTIST Most people know that good oral hygiene - brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits - is linked to good health. Researchers have offered fresh evidence to support that conventional wisdom, by taking a close look at invisible communities of microbes that live in every mouth. The oral microbiome - the sum total of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, that occupy the human mouth - was the subject of a study that found, among other things, a correlation between people who did not visit the dentist regularly and increased presence of a pathogen that causes periodontal disease. Flossing and regular dental care The study grouped people by those who flossed and those who did not (almost everyone said they brushed, so that wasn't a useful data point). Participants who flossed were found to have lower microbial diversity in their mouths than non-flossers. This is most likely due to the physical removal of bacteria that could be causing inflammation or disease. Adults who had gone to a dentist in the last three months had lower overall microbial diversity in their mouths than those who hadn't gone in 12 months or longer, and had less of the periodontal disease-causing oral pathogen, Treponema. This, again, was probably due to dental cleaning removing rarer bacterial taxa in the mouth. Children considered obese according to their body mass indices had distinct microbiomes as compared to non- obese children. The obese children also tended to have higher levels of Treponema, the same pathogen found in adults who hadn't been to the dentist in more than a year. The researchers saw a possible link between childhood obesity and periodontal disease. Presented as a service to the community by Dr. Barbara Webster 1121 Warren Ave., Suite 130, Downers Grove, IL 60515 630-663-0554 SM-CL1797939 THE MICROBES IN YOUR MOUTH, AND A REMINDER TO FLOSS AND GO TO THE DENTIST Most people know that good oral hygiene - brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits - is linked to good health. Researchers have offered fresh evidence to support that conventional wisdom, by taking a close look at invisible communities of microbes that live in every mouth. The oral microbiome - the sum total of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, that occupy the human mouth - was the subject of a study that found, among other things, a correlation between people who did not visit the dentist regularly and increased presence of a pathogen that causes periodontal disease. Flossing and regular dental care The study grouped people by those who flossed and those who did not (almost everyone said they brushed, so that wasn't a useful data point). Participants who flossed were found to have lower microbial diversity in their mouths than non-flossers. This is most likely due to the physical removal of bacteria that could be causing inflammation or disease. Adults who had gone to a dentist in the last three months had lower overall microbial diversity in their mouths than those who hadn't gone in 12 months or longer, and had less of the periodontal disease-causing oral pathogen, Treponema. This, again, was probably due to dental cleaning removing rarer bacterial taxa in the mouth. Children considered obese according to their body mass indices had distinct microbiomes as compared to non- obese children. The obese children also tended to have higher levels of Treponema, the same pathogen found in adults who hadn't been to the dentist in more than a year. The researchers saw a possible link between childhood obesity and periodontal disease. Presented as a service to the community by Dr. Barbara Webster 1121 Warren Ave., Suite 130, Downers Grove, IL 60515 630-663-0554 SM-CL1797939