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Thesis
Oral microbiome and metabolome in fixed orthodontic therapy
University of Iowa
Master of Science (MS), University of Iowa
Spring 2024
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007409
Abstract
BACKGROUND
With orthodontics gaining popularity for enhancing esthetics and function, approximately 4.5 million Americans, predominantly aged 6 to 18, wear braces. Yet, fixed orthodontic therapy (FOT) poses challenges to oral hygiene, leading to increased plaque, heightened risks of caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, and common complications such as gingival inflammation and elevated periodontal pathogens during orthodontic treatment. Furthermore, orthodontic tooth movement involves a complex tissue remodeling process which are all intricately linked with immune cells and immunologically active substances. We aim to comprehensively evaluate the oral microbiome, inflammatory mediators, and metabolites from subgingival plaque samples in patients undergoing FOT at various time points during treatment.
METHODS
55 orthodontic patients and 14 periodontally healthy control subjects participated in this cross-sectional analysis. These patients ranged in age from 11-20 years and were matched for age, gender, and dentition. Subgingival plaque samples and GCF (Gingival Crevicular Fluid) were collected at 6 months, 12 months, or 24 months (about 2 years)/deband in orthodontic therapy. DNA isolation was performed using the Qigen DNEasy kit for plaque samples. 16S rRNA sequencing was performed with Illumina MiSeq platform. Analyses were conducted with DADA2, QIIME2. Taxonomy identification was determined against the HOMD (Human Oral Microbial Database) database. Alpha and beta-diversity were assessed. Metabolomic data was assessed via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses. A MILLIPLEX® Multiplex for Luminex® Immunoassay (Millipore, Sigma Aldrich) was used for cytokine and immune mediator analysis.
RESULTS
Patients undergoing FOT had a significantly distinct bacterial composition compared to controls. The microbiome of FOT was associated with an increase in several caries and inflammation associated species such as Saccharibacteria, Treponema, Prevotella, and Streptococcus species. Changes in the oral microbiome were most significant during earlier time points of treatment. Many of the metabolites identified in the study could be grouped into one of three categories: inflammation, collagen metabolism, and bone homeostasis, all of which are significant processes during orthodontic therapy. Analysis of the immune mediators revealed there were elevated levels of pro-inflammatory mediators like INF-y, IL-22, IL-1B, and IL-7 at 6 months while IL-10 was decreased throughout all time points in FOT.
CONCLUSION
Our integrated -omics approach is the first step towards understanding the comprehensive interdependent roles of oral microbiota, the host response, and metabolites associated in the subgingival environment of patients undergoing FOT.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Oral microbiome and metabolome in fixed orthodontic therapy
- Creators
- Ronak J Bhagat
- Contributors
- Sukirth Ganesan (Advisor)Michael Callan (Committee Member)Shareef Dabdoub (Committee Member)Lina Moreno Uribe (Committee Member)Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (MS), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Oral Science
- Date degree season
- Spring 2024
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007409
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xi, 89 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2024 Ronak J. Bhagat
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/16/2024
- Description illustrations
- illustrations, graphs, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 32-36).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- Braces are a popular option to get a straighter smile or fix how your teeth bite together. When you have braces, it makes it harder to brush your teeth. Without brushing, bacteria can build up what is called plaque. Normal, we have hundreds of bacteria in our mouth but if we don’t brush properly, the bad bacteria start increasing and we risk getting cavities and gum disease. This study's purpose is to see how the bacteria in the mouth change when patients have braces and to evaluate how the body responds to these potential changes. We collected plaque and fluid that was underneath the gumline with paper points and special strips from 4 groups of patients. Patients who do not have braces and patients 6, 12 and 24 months (about 2 years) or getting braces off. These samples were then processed in a lab and sent off to be analyzed. We found patients with braces have a different group of bacteria associated with cavities and gum disease. We also saw that patients with braces had metabolites that were associated with inflammation, collagen maturation, and bone homeostasis. Overall, there was a trend of increased inflammation during earlier timepoints which is what we expected to see. More studies like this need to be done in the future with larger groups of people, but we hope that this work is the start to help find a solution to common complication for patients with braces.
- Academic Unit
- Oral Pathology, Radiology and Medicine; Craniofacial Anomalies Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984647648702771
Metrics
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