The oral microbiome in health and disease

Abstract

This chapter deals with the human oral microbiome which contains bacteria, bacteriophages/viruses, archaea, fungi, and protozoa. Modern molecular techniques used to analyze this microbiome are dealt with such as HOMINGS, oligotyping, high-throughput sequencing, whole-genome shotgun sequencing, single-cell genome sequencing, metatranscriptomics, and community-wide transcriptome analysis. The oral microbiota in health is described as well as that in periodontal disease and dental caries. Furthermore, the architecture of biofilms in periodontitis and caries is visualized. Our knowledge on the oral microbiota challenges the current practice of chairside diagnostics.