Research results have shown that the oral microbial environment worsened by periodontitis can affect the development of systemic diseases.
According to Seoul National University Bundang Hospital on the 17th, the microorganisms that make up the complex and sophisticated ecosystem (microbiome) in our bodies affect the onset or prevention of disease depending on the interaction between beneficial and harmful bacteria. The oral cavity is a representative organ where microbial communities reside. More than 1,000 types of bacteria are distributed in the oral cavity. It is reported that 500 million to 1 billion bacteria exist in 1 ml of saliva.
It is well known that the deterioration of the oral microbial environment is closely related to the increase in the incidence of systemic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia. However, the method and path of how the microbial community in the oral cavity affects the overall microbiome of the human body and even systemic diseases has not been specifically revealed.
Accordingly, the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital team of Dentistry Professor Lee Hyo-jeong and Laboratory Medicine Professor Kim Hyun-ji and Park Gyeong-woon conducted a ‘metagenomic’ study by comparing and analyzing genomic DNA data simultaneously extracted from patients with periodontitis and healthy patients stored at the hospital.
The research team began genome sequencing based on saliva, oral wall, oral plaque, feces, and blood data from periodontitis patients and healthy patients.
As a result, the same composition and ratio of periodontitis-related microorganisms observed in the saliva and plaque of periodontitis patients were found in the blood. This means that blood can serve as a marker to identify the mechanism by which periodontal disease affects systemic diseases.
This study is significant because it can identify the previously unknown correlation between oral health and various systemic diseases. Through the study, the existence of an ‘oral-blood microbial axis’ was confirmed, in which the oral microbial community worsened by periodontitis etc. forms a habitat in the blood. In doing so, a clue was provided to reveal the mechanism by which oral health affects the entire body.
Professor Lee Hyo-jeong said, “We need to be aware of the fact that periodontitis, which worsens the microbial environment in the oral cavity, can have negative effects on the entire body, and we need to pay more attention to oral health management.”
The results of this study were published in the international journal ‘Journal of Oral Microbiology’.
Hyewon Lee, Donga.com Reporter hyewon@donga.com