Oral Microbiomes and the Importance of Regular Flossing

This is a known fact that flossing, brushing, regular dental visits are all a part of good oral hygiene and are connected to good dental health. Microbiome researchers have come up with fresh data and its analysis, which supports this conventional thought. They have experimented with the microbes that are present inside our mouths and have come to significant conclusions. Their research has found a correlation between individuals not going for frequent dental checkups and increased cases of periodontal diseases. 

The dental microbiome, consisting of microorganisms including fungi and bacteria was the object of their extensive research.

Cheek swabs

In 2015, Garneau and her staff trained volunteer scientists on how to use large swabs to gather cheek cells from museum visitors. These trained individuals collected swabs from 336 people comprising 181 adults and 185 children and teenagers. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the oral microbiome affects how people taste sweet things. If yes, then to what extent does it affect them. 

To help analyse the data, Garneau asked for Metcalf's team of professionals at CSU. Burcham and his professional team implemented analysing methods and sophisticated sequencing tools to determine what kind of microbes were present in which mouths. Sequencing for the collected data was performed in partnership with the dental researchers in Rob Knight's group at the University of California, San Diego. A nutrition group of experts from Michigan state university was also called for rendering their insight in this data analysis. 

Importance of regular dental checkups and frequent flossing

The study divided people based on who flossed and who didn't. People who flossed regularly were found to have a less microbial density inside their mouths than the ones who didn't floss. This is because of the physical removal of bacteria inside one's mouth, which can result in inflammation or oral diseases. Adults who went for their dental checkup in the last three months had less microbial diversity, overall than the ones she hasn't visited their dentists even for once in 12 months. The former category also had less of the pathogen called treponema, which causes periodontal diseases. This again is because of the removal of bacterial taxa inside one's mouth due to flossing. 

Children suffering from obesity have recognisable microbiomes than non-obese kids. The former ones also had comparatively high levels of treponema than the latter ones. In short, researchers found a link between obesity among youths and periodontal diseases. 

The diversity of microsomes to be found inside one's mouth depends on the environment they live in and their food habits. It has been found that children around the age of 9 years had more microbial diversity than adult people. Also, adult microbiomes varied among individuals. Researchers also found out that people who resided in the same house had similar oral microbiomes. 

It's interesting to know how microbiomes present in our bodies affect our health. The study was published by scientific reports and has established how not going for regular dental checkups and increased chances of periodontal disease are related. You can know more in detail about the same by reaching to Dawson Dental.