Khadka Sangeeta, Bowman John P, Gautam Sanjay, Goldberg Lynette R, King Anna, Crocombe Leonard, Bettiol Silvana S
Centre for Rural Health, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Food Safety and Innovation Centre, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Clin Exp Dent Res. 2025 Oct;11(5):e70212. doi: 10.1002/cre2.70212.
Oral health is an important aspect of quality of life for older people, especially those with dementia. The impact of an active oral hygiene program on the oral microbiome was explored in a group of older participants (average age 84 years old) with dementia against a separate control group whose oral hygiene followed the status quo.
The oral cavity bacteriomes and mycobiomes were assessed from swabs of cheek, gum, and tongue surfaces. Samples were collected at the beginning and end of a 6-week study period, and bacterial and fungal community profiles were determined by short-read metabarcode sequencing of 16S and 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, respectively.
The predominant bacteria were found to be in order of abundance: Streptococcus, Cellulosimicrobium, Rothia, Veillonella, Prevotella, Actinomyces, and species that belonged to the families Lactobacillaceae and Gemellaceae. Similarly, common fungal species belonged to Saccharomyces and the Candida-Lodderomyces clade. The intensive oral hygiene program did not affect bacterial or fungal taxa distributions. A minor reduction in bacterial species richness (15%-20%) was observed post-intervention in both groups. Mycobiome outcomes varied by sampling sites, unlike bacterial communities, which were relatively homogenous. Participant differences, potentially individual health status, genetics, and other personal factors, explained most data set variations (70%-78% of the variance), with the experimental design accounting for about 2%.
To enable an alteration of oral cavity communities that may improve overall oral health and mitigate infectious disease risks in older people, especially those in residential care, targeted and specific hygiene approaches may be needed for the purposes of assessing effectiveness at the microbiological level. Future research should focus on developing and testing such targeted strategies to mitigate infectious disease risks and enhance the quality of life for older individuals, particularly those in residential care settings.
口腔健康是老年人生活质量的重要方面，尤其是对患有痴呆症的老年人而言。在一组平均年龄为84岁的患有痴呆症的老年参与者中，探讨了积极的口腔卫生计划对口腔微生物群的影响，并与另一组口腔卫生维持现状的对照组进行对比。
从脸颊、牙龈和舌面的拭子中评估口腔细菌群落和真菌群落。在为期6周的研究期开始和结束时收集样本，分别通过对16S和18S核糖体RNA（rRNA）基因进行短读长元条形码测序来确定细菌和真菌群落概况。
发现主要细菌按丰度排序为：链球菌属、纤维微菌属、罗氏菌属、韦荣球菌属、普雷沃菌属、放线菌属，以及属于乳杆菌科和孪生球菌科的物种。同样，常见真菌物种属于酿酒酵母属和念珠菌-路德酵母进化枝。强化口腔卫生计划并未影响细菌或真菌分类群的分布。两组在干预后均观察到细菌物种丰富度略有下降（15%-20%）。与相对均匀的细菌群落不同，真菌群落的结果因采样部位而异。参与者之间的差异，可能是个体健康状况、遗传因素和其他个人因素，解释了大部分数据集的变化（方差的70%-78%），而实验设计占约2%。
为了改变口腔群落，从而改善老年人尤其是机构养老者的整体口腔健康并降低感染性疾病风险，可能需要针对性的特定卫生方法，以便在微生物水平上评估有效性。未来的研究应侧重于开发和测试此类针对性策略，以降低感染性疾病风险并提高老年人尤其是机构养老者的生活质量。
