New research shows that localised gingivitis can induce changes in the oral microbiome and can lead to immune responses in distant healthy parts of the mouth. Furthermore, the timing and intensity of such responses can vary among individuals.
A new study, by researchers from the University of Washington, Rutgers University, King Abdulaziz University and the Department of Oral Health Research at the Colgate Palmolive Company, is titled "Localised microbially induced inflammation influences distant healthy tissues in the human oral cavity." It is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Existing research shows that humans can exhibit different immune responses to bacterial and viral pathogens. Within the mouth, differing immune responses to microbial invasion have been similarly observed. In this study, the researchers sought to observe and describe contrasts in microbial gingival inflammation induced in study subjects.
The research involved 21 adults between the ages of 18 and 35 in good general health. Fourteen days before the experimental phase began, each volunteer received a professional teeth cleaning to establish normal oral health.
As this was a split-mouth design study, two weeks later (on study day 0), each subject received a personalised acrylic intraoral stent to cover a randomly assigned test site of three teeth on the upper maxilla (either #3, 4, and 5 or #12, 13, and 14). The three teeth located contralateral to each test site were considered the control site.
For the next 21 days, the test subjects covered the test sites with their stents while they maintained regular oral hygiene and brushed the rest of their teeth with toothpaste containing fluoride. During this three-week period, the researchers induced gingival inflammation, taking gingival samples on days 0, 4, 7, 14, and 21, and noting the timing of the amounts and types of oral bacteria and bleeding on probing observed in each volunteer.
As the study proceeded, the healthy control sites (on which the volunteers maintained regular oral hygiene) exhibited indicators of gingival inflammation similar to those seen in the test sites, but which developed to a lesser extent and at a slower pace.
Interestingly, based on the test subjects' bacterial responses, the researchers were able to categorize each as one of three inflammatory responder types (IRTs): high-IRT, low-IRT, or slow-IRT. High-IRTs and slow-IRTs exhibited more vulnerability than low-IRTs to high inflammation, with longer development periods of bacterial loads in slow-IRTs. The IRT groups did not reflect notable differences in sex and age.
These results are important because they add to existing knowledge of how inflammation in a localized area can ultimately affect healthy tissues in a distant area and possibly lead to infection. Moreover, despite maintaining oral hygiene, each study subject developed varying levels of oral inflammation at different rates according to their specific inflammatory responder type.
Crucially, what isn't clear is what determines an individual's inflammatory responder type. This suggests that while maintaining one's oral hygiene through daily brushing and flossing is essential, it is only one component of a comprehensive dental health scheme. Regular hygiene visits and dental checkups are still necessary to detect any distant inflammation.
Tags:
KRIENS, Switzerland: During orthodontic treatment, many patients seek advice on how to clean their braces effectively and gently. Since ordinary ...
LONDON, UK: One in three adults in the UK are estimated to have a persistent fear of going to the dentist. The fact that the phobia can lead to more active ...
LIVERPOOL, UK: Food insecurity affects 17% of households in the UK, according to a 2023 government survey. This lack of consistent access to sufficient ...
“ITop” stands for “individually trained oral prophylaxis”. You may argue that hygienists deliver this to their patients all the ...
RUGBY – The British Dental Health Foundation has welcomed a new labelling system that was launched on Wednesday and aims to enable consumers to make ...
LONDON, UK: Despite being largely preventable, poor dental health continues to be a major public health issue in England. This is evident in a recent report...
LONDON, UK: General awareness of mouth cancer in the UK remains dangerously low, despite more than 7,500 people being diagnosed with mouth cancer annually. ...
RUGBY, UK: In summer, people around the world poured a bucket of ice-cold water over their heads as part of a campaign initiated by the ALS (amyotrophic ...
EDINBURGH, UK: The gap in dental caries rates between children living in the least and most deprived areas of Scotland is growing, according to the National...
Most of us know that proper brushing with toothpaste containing fluoride is the first step in maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Despite this, ...
Live webinar
Fri. 19 July 2024
1:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Tue. 6 August 2024
11:00 pm UTC (London)
Live webinar
Wed. 14 August 2024
12:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Wed. 21 August 2024
2:00 pm UTC (London)
Dr. Jim Lai DMD, MSc(Perio), EdD, FRCD(C)
Live webinar
Thu. 29 August 2024
1:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Mon. 2 September 2024
10:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Tue. 3 September 2024
4:00 pm UTC (London)
To post a reply please login or register