Salivary diagnostics and the oral microbiome

Abstract

Our oral cavity hosts an extraordinary variety of microorganisms. Recent work has started to look at the composition of the oral microbiome in both healthy and disease states. Various stages of caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis, plus novel work understanding the role of bacteria in other diseases/conditions and carcinogenesis, reveal that our oral microbiome has an intriguing link to our global health. Together, these studies have combined a number of techniques, including human oral microbe identifi cation microarray (HOMIM) and high-throughput sequencing, to survey the oral fl ora composition. Microorganisms' sensitivity to small changes in the environment including pH, nutrients and metabolites, oxygen and water levels, and host immune factors has been broadly studied. Ideally, the high sensitivity of oral microorganisms should forecast subtle changes in the health status and potentially serve as a biomarker for early detection of disease. Paired with other host saliva biomarkers, the oral microbiome presents a novel noninvasive diagnostic tool for monitoring changes in human physiology and a potential shift toward disease.