Effects of cigarette smoking on the oral microbiome in adolescents

Smoking, a risk factor for oral periodontitis and peri-implantitis, is associated with shifts in the oral microbiome composition. Although the habit of smoking is almost always established before adulthood, data on the effects of smoking on the oral microbiome in adolescents is rare. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of smoking on the oral microbiome composition in pupils aged 14 to 20. The cohort comprised 98 smokers and 98 non-smokers, who were matched for age, sex, height, BMI, and medication intake. Swabs of the buccal mucosa were analysed for oral microbiome compositions using high-throughput sequencing of the full-length 16S rRNA gene aiming at species-level resolution. Parameters of bacterial diversity and abundance of individual bacterial taxa were related to information on smoking.