EVALUATION OF DENTAL PLAQUE AND SALIVA MICROBIOME AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH PERIODONTAL PARAMETERS IN PREMENOPAUSAL AND POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN
Project no. 23832 · Status: Kapanmış · 2022
Summary
<p>The human oral microbiome is a unique ecosystem with high species diversity. The balance of this ecosystem is critically important for both oral health and systemic health. Decreased blood estradiol levels associated with menopause can cause changes in the balance of the oral microbiome. Identifying and describing these potential changes is important for planning preventive and therapeutic methods during the postmenopausal period. In our study, we investigated the relationship between circulating estradiol levels and the microbial composition of saliva and subgingival dental plaque in premenopausal and postmenopausal women using the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization method. Additionally, we demonstrated that integrating this technique with insights from 16S rRNA sequencing is a valuable tool for examining the characteristics of subgingival ecology. The study included 116 premenopausal and 113 postmenopausal female participants. The abundance of 40 bacterial species in saliva and dental plaque was evaluated using the DNA-DNA hybridization method, and serum estradiol levels were measured using the ELISA method. Participants were divided into subgroups based on estradiol levels and the presence of periodontitis to compare the abundance of bacterial species. Subsequently, individuals were classified according to the severity of subgingival dysbiosis using the modified Subgingival Microbial Dysbiosis Index (mSMDI), and a total of 24 samples (six normobiotic and six dysbiotic from each of the premenopausal and postmenopausal groups) were selected for 16S rRNA sequencing analysis.</p><p>DNA-DNA hybridization analysis revealed that most of the observed variability in individual bacterial proportions was associated with periodontitis. Leptotrichia buccalis and Streptococcus constellatus showed differences related to serum estradiol levels within the premenopausal group (p=0.055 and p=0.009, respectively). 16S rRNA sequencing confirmed the validity of mSMDI in categorizing normobiotic and dysbiotic states. Menopausal status was not associated with a dysbiotic shift in the subgingival microbiome; however, greater attachment loss was observed in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women (p=0.031). Species in the subgingival plaque showed stronger correlations among themselves and with periodontal parameters compared to those in saliva.</p><p>Our results indicate that decreased estradiol levels or increased attachment loss due to menopause are not associated with the abundance of plaque bacterial species and that menopause does not cause dysbiotic changes in the oral environment. The mSMDI may be a useful tool for classifying subgingival ecology based on its normobiotic or dysbiotic inclination.</p>