Corrêa J D, Carlos P P S, Faria G A, Pacheco L C R, da Costa V S, Mendes I R R, de Oliveira A B, Colombo A P V
Department of Dentistry, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Institute of Microbiology and School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
J Dent Res. 2025 Mar;104(3):235-242. doi: 10.1177/00220345241297583. Epub 2024 Dec 20.
Microorganisms have co-evolved with a variety of plants and animals, developing complex symbiotic relationships with their hosts and the environment. The diversity of symbionts acquired over time help their hosts to adapt, survive, and evolve more rapidly and efficiently, improving fitness across the lifespan. Understanding these synergistic relationships between humans and their endogenous microbiota may provide valuable information on human physiology and on potential mechanisms associated with the onset of diseases. This review summarizes current data on the composition and functionality of the predominant taxa of the healthy oral microbiome across different ages and habitats within the oral cavity, critically pointing out the inconsistency of methodologies for microbiological analysis and what still needs to be validated. We discuss how early acquisition and establishment of the oral microbiome are influenced by factors such as delivery type and feeding practices, and how adolescence marks a phase of significant shifts in the oral taxa due to hormonal and behavioral transitions. During adulthood, the healthy oral microbiome may acquire multistable signatures, shaped by genetic and environmental factors, while minor changes in core microorganisms are observed in the healthy aging populations. Overall, evidence shows that the oral microbiome is a complex ecosystem, continuously modulated by several factors, since its early acquisition through adulthood and into old age. Fluctuations do happen, but a resilient core community will persist over time in most humans to maintain homeostasis. Future challenges of microbiome research will rely on our ability to define multiple age-related healthy oral microbiomes across populations, so that oral dysbiosis can be detected and managed in advance. In this context, standardization of data acquisition and analysis, as well as improvements in multidisciplinary clinical diagnosis of oral health, must be pursued for a better comprehension of the balanced host-microbiome interaction.
微生物与多种动植物共同进化，与宿主及环境形成了复杂的共生关系。随着时间推移获得的共生体多样性有助于宿主更快、更高效地适应、生存和进化，提升整个生命周期的健康水平。了解人类与其内源性微生物群之间的这些协同关系，可能会为人类生理学以及与疾病发生相关的潜在机制提供有价值的信息。本综述总结了目前关于健康口腔微生物群在口腔内不同年龄和栖息地的主要类群组成及功能的数据，批判性地指出了微生物学分析方法的不一致性以及仍需验证的内容。我们讨论了口腔微生物群的早期获得和建立如何受到分娩方式和喂养习惯等因素的影响，以及青春期如何因激素和行为转变而标志着口腔类群发生重大变化的阶段。在成年期，健康的口腔微生物群可能会获得由遗传和环境因素塑造的多稳态特征，而在健康老龄化人群中观察到核心微生物有微小变化。总体而言，证据表明口腔微生物群是一个复杂的生态系统，从早期获得直至成年和老年，一直受到多种因素的持续调节。波动确实会发生，但在大多数人中，一个有弹性的核心群落会随着时间持续存在以维持体内平衡。微生物群研究未来的挑战将依赖于我们定义不同人群中多个与年龄相关的健康口腔微生物群的能力，以便能够提前检测和管理口腔生态失调。在此背景下，必须追求数据采集和分析的标准化，以及改善口腔健康的多学科临床诊断，以便更好地理解宿主与微生物群之间的平衡相互作用。
