JAPAN: Researchers at the Graduate School of Medicine, Okayama University have found that periodontitis is related to the presence of P. gingivalis, Lactobacillaceae and Desulfobulbaceae and not because of genetic variation in an individual.
Periodontitis, which have the potential for alveolar bone loss, is an inflammation of periodontal tissue caused by bacterial infection. According to the World Health Organization, periodontitis has been one of the main causes of tooth loss and can impact one’s quality of life.
The main objective of this study was to determine the associations among polymorphisms, the microbiome, and periodontitis simultaneously.
Professor Naoki Toyama and his research team conducted a study in which they genotypically analysed several participants and conducted saliva sampling of 385 individuals. They retained twenty-two individuals for statistical analysis and divided them into “periodontitis” and “control” groups, based on their periodontal status.
They accredited the presence of bacteria species, P. gingivalis and the bacterial families, Lactobacillaceae and Desulfobulbaceae, to periodontitis. On the other hand, they found no relation between genetic polymorphism and periodontitis.
The team concluded that the oral microbiome affects the periodontitis status more than the genes by taking into account all the interferences.
The research "Comprehensive Analysis of Risk Factors for Periodontitis Focusing on the Saliva Microbiome and Polymorphism" has been recently published in the International Journal of Environment and Public Health Research.
