Association of oral bacteria with oral hygiene habits and self-reported gingival bleeding

Abstract

Aim: To describe associations of gingival bacterial composition and diversity with self-reported gingival bleeding and oral hygiene habits in a Norwegian regional-based population. Materials and Methods: We examined the microbiome composition of the gingival fluid (16S amplicon sequencing) in 484 adult participants (47% females; median age 28 years) in the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia (RHINESSA) study in Bergen, Norway. We explored bacterial diversity and abundance differences by the community periodontal index score, self-reported frequency of gingival bleeding, and oral hygiene habits. Results: Gingival bacterial diversity increased with increasing frequency of self-reported gingival bleeding, with higher Shannon diversity index for “always” β = 0.51 and “often” β = 0.75 (p