Release Summary Text:
The microbial ecosystem of our body plays a vital role in its upkeep.
Any imbalance in this ecosystem can cause several health problems; in
our mouth, this can mean tooth cavities. Motivated by the need to find
out why an increasing number of young Japanese people are reporting
tooth decay, scientists from Japan examined saliva samples from
university students. They discovered insightful differences in the oral
microbial communities of those with and without tooth decay.
Full text of release:
The human body is home to trillions of microbes. Through its natural
functioning, much of the time, this ecosystem regulates our health. But
like the environment of the world at large, this bodily ecosystem is
delicate, and any change in the composition of the microbial community,
also called the “microbiome,” can cause an overall imbalance in their
collective functioning, resulting in disease.
Now, advances in research in this field have yielded a technique called
next-generation DNA sequencing, which allows for very accurate
identification of the members of this microbial community, thereby
offering insights into microbial community composition. For several
diseases, knowing which microbes densely populate the organ/tissue in
question or become absent from it during disease can help develop
effective treatments. Such is the case for dental caries, a type of
tooth decay in which acid-producing bacteria eat away at the out layer
of teeth and cause cavities.
A type of bacteria called the mutans streptococci are the most commonly
implicated microbes in dental caries. Their increase causes dental
decay. But, could other microbes be responsible as well?
Scientists globally have looked into this question. However, focus on
the younger demographic has been low. Meanwhile, in Japan, the number of
young adults developing dental caries is increasing.
Spurred by this increase and this insufficient literature, a team of
researchers from Japan, led by Dr. Uchida-Fukuhara from Okayama
University, called for Japanese university student volunteers for oral
examinations at the Health Service Center in Okayama University.
The students answered a survey about their dental health at the
beginning of the study and during a follow-up after three years. This
told the researchers which students had significantly increased dental
caries after this time and who didn’t. The researchers grouped the
students accordingly during the follow-up (let’s say, Groups A and B
respectively). They then collected saliva samples of randomly selected
students from these groups, which they analyzed via next-generation DNA
sequencing to obtain microbial profiles.
It turned out that very similar oral microbial diversities existed in
both groups. But in Group A, the abundances of the bacterial families
Prevotellaceae and Veillonellaceae, and genera Alloprevotella and
Dialister, were greater than those in Group B. These two families are
known to comprise species that produce acid as well. This finding,
therefore, suggests new prevention possibilities for dental caries that
does not focus on keeping mutans streptococci populations in check.
Interestingly, both groups had low levels of mutans streptococci. Should
the focus of research on what causes dental caries change?
The striking results of the study, published in the International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, underscore the
necessity of updating current knowledge on the oral microbial community
and its role in the development of dental caries. But Dr. Uchida
highlights limitations in the study’s applicability and advises taking
these findings with a pinch of salt. “Among other things, all our
participants were from Okayama University, so our results may not be
generalizable to the wider population,” she says.
Yet, Dr. Uchida is hopeful, “For many years our group has been
conducting population studies to reduce oral diseases. We believe that
the results of this new study will help us develop novel strategies to
prevent dental caries and our students will achieve greater life
satisfaction because of better teeth and oral health.”
Perhaps, in the future, students’ teeth will be clean as a hound’s tooth.
Release URL: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/ou-sst082120.php
Reference:
Title of original paper: Caries Increment and Salivary Microbiome during University Life: A Prospective Cohort Study
Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103713
Contact Person: Yoko Uchida-Fukuhara
E-mail: de20006(a)s.okayama-u.ac.jp
For inquiries, please contact us by replacing (a) with the @ mark.
https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/eng/research_highlights/index_id112.html
https://sdgs.okayama-u.ac.jp/en/
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