Dental News - New study links poor oral health to respiratory disease

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 24. August 2018

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FUKUOKA, Japan: According to new research from Japan, elderly people with poor oral health constantly ingest oral microbial populations that are more dysbiotic, which could lead to respiratory health problems and pneumonia. The study highlights the importance of dental health and the attention that should be given to tongue microbiota status in older adults with poor oral health.

The findings come from a large population-based study, led by Dr Yoshihisa Yamashita from the Faculty of Dental Science at Kyushu University in Fukuoka in Japan, that identified variations in the tongue microbiota among elderly people in Japan. Prior to the study, researchers knew that aspiration of saliva in combination with dysbiotic tongue microbiota can lead to pneumonia. In their study, Yamashita and his colleagues investigated the tongue microbiota variations and dental health of 506 men and women aged 70–80 using next-generation sequencing to analyse the samples and identified factors associated with dysbiotic shift in the tongue microbiota composition.

The researchers found that the total bacterial density was independent of dental health, whereas the microbiota composition showed an association with tooth conditions. They found two cohabiting groups of predominant commensals, one of which was primarily composed of Prevotella histicola, Veillonella atypica, Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus parasanguinis, which have been previously associated with an increased risk of mortality due to pneumonia among frail elderly people. This bacterial group was more predominant in the participants with fewer teeth, a higher plaque index and more caries-affected teeth.

“Fewer teeth, poorer dental hygiene, and more dental caries experience are closely related to dysbiotic shift in the tongue microbiota composition, which might be harmful to the respiratory health of elderly adults with swallowing problems,” said Yamashita.

The study, titled “Tongue microbiota and oral health status in community-dwelling elderly adults,” was published online in mSphere on 15 August 2018.

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