Increased prevalence and abundance of
Selenomonas sputigena
have been associated with periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of tooth-supporting tissues, for more than 50 years. Over the past decade, molecular surveys of periodontal disease using 16S and shotgun metagenomic sequencing approaches have confirmed the disease association of classically recognized periodontal pathogens such as
Porphyromonas gingivalis
,
Treponema denticola
, and
Tannerella forsythia
while highlighting previously underappreciated organisms such as
Filifactor alocis
and
S. sputigena
.
The oral epithelial barrier acts as both a physical barrier to the abundant oral microbiome and a sentry for the immune system that, in health, constrains the accumulation of the polymicrobial plaque biofilm. The immune homeostasis during gingivitis that is largely protective becomes dysregulated, unproductive, and destructive to gingival tissue as periodontal disease progresses to periodontitis.
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