Healthy oral microbiome. undefined

Periodontal disease causes the loss of periodontal supporting structures and impacts masticatory cycle efficiency and molar bite force negatively. Keeping teeth with healthy periodontium as many as possible is important for maintaining quality of life in elderly people. Periodontitis is caused by oral bacteria. Therefore, the characteristics of the oral microbiome are important for understanding periodontitis. Present study shows the characteristics of the microbiome related to the healthy periodontal condition. The oral microbiome is a community of bacteria and consists of over 600 bacterial species. The characteristics of the oral microbiome, including the microbial profile and diversity, critically affect the maintenance of good health or progression toward disease. However, there has been insufficient information about the oral microbiome in the healthy periodontal condition. For understanding of healthy oral microbiota, we examined the diversity of communities of bacteria using techniques of pyrosequencing the 16S rRNA gene and comparing their functional profiles (16s metagenome sequencing). Our results are useful of understanding optional characteristics of healthy oral microbiota in Japanese elderly people.