Acinetobacter baumannii as an oro-dental pathogen: a red alert!!

Abstract

Objectives This review highlights the existence and association of Acinetobacter baumannii with the oro-dental diseases, transforming this systemic pathogen into an oral pathogen. The review also hypothesizes possible reasons for the categorization of this pathogen as code blue due to its stealthy entry into the oral cavity. Methodology Study data were retrieved from various search engines reporting specifically on the association of A. baumannii in dental diseases and tray set-ups. Articles were also examined regarding obtained outcomes on A. baumannii biofilm formation, iron acquisitions, magnitude of antimicrobial resistance, and its role in the oral cancers. Results A. baumannii is associated with the oro-dental diseases and various virulence factors attribute for the establishment and progression of oro-mucosal infections. Its presence in the oral cavity is frequent in oral microbiomes, conditions of impaired host immunity, age related illnesses, and hospitalized individuals. Many sources also contribute for its prevalence in the dental health care environment and the presence of drug resistant traits is also observed. Its association with oral cancers and oral squamous cell carcinoma is also evident. Conclusions The review calls for awareness on the emergence of A. baumannii in dental clinics and for the need for educational programs to monitor and control the sudden outbreaks of such virulent and resistant traits in the dental health care settings.

The oral microbiome is associated with HPA axis response to a psychosocial stressor

“…In addition, due to the original scientific question that the EpiPath was conducted for, microbiome-specific metadata such as, diet habits and oral health status were not collected. Knowing that some of the taxa we identified to interact with the stress response including Acinetobacter , Campylobacter and Sphingomonas, are associated with periodontitis and other systemic diseases 67 , 71 , 72 , 75 – 80 , information on the participants’ oral health would have strengthen the mechanistic potential of our dataset.…”

“…Whilst a chronically activated HPA axis results to microbiome-related chronic inflammatory diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) it also contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of e.g. diabetes, depression and neurodegenerative diseases 65 – 72 . In addition, long-term stress linked to impacted intestinal permeability and changes on the microbiome and concequently interfere with psychiatric phenotypes and medication 65 – 69 , leading us to conjecture that the oral microbiome is equally capable of promoting such interactions.…”