Previous studies have demonstrated clear links between oral
health and common diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and Alzheimer’s disease. However, there have been few
longitudinal studies identifying which bacteria occur in infected oral- and
maxillofacial regions.
Researchers at
Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified the bacteria is most commonly
found in severe oral infections.
The study that I
am toking about shows that the most common bacterial phyla amongst the samples
were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes,
Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, while the most common genera were Streptococcus spp, Prevotella spp, and
Staphylococcus spp.
The study was
conducted using 1,014 samples from as many patients, of whom 469 were women and
545 men.
The finding isn’t
only of importance to dental medicine, it also helps us understand the role of
dental infection in patients with underlying diseases. If a certain bacterium
infects and causes damage in the mouth, it’s very likely that it can be harmful
to tissues elsewhere in the body as the infection spreads.
Reference:
“Clinical Microbial Identification of Severe
Oral Infections by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry in Stockholm County: An 11-Year
(2010-2020) Epidemiological Investigation”. Khaled Al-Manei, Mahin Ghorbani,
Sabrina Naud, Kholod Khalil Al-Manei, Michał J. Sobkowiak, Bodil Lund, Gulsen
Hazirolan, Margaret Sällberg Chen och, Volkan Özenci. Microbiology Spectrum,
online 24 November 2022, doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02487-22.