Short-term sugar stress induces compositional changes and loss of diversity of the supragingival microbiota

Abstract

Frequent intake of free sugars is a major risk factor for dental caries, but the immediate influence of sugar intake on the supragingival microbiota remains unknown. We aim to characterize the effect of 14 days of sugar rinsing on the supragingival microbiota. Forty orally and systemically healthy participants rinsed their mouth with a 10% sucrose solution, 6–8 times a day, for 14 days, followed by 14 days without sugar stress. Supragingival plaque samples were collected at baseline, and after 14, and 28 days. The supragingival microbiota was analyzed using 16S rDNA sequencing. Taxonomic classification was performed using the Human Oral Microbiome Database. After 14 days of sugar stress induced by the daily sugar rinses, a significant loss of α-diversity ( p = 0.02) and a significant increase in the relative abundance of Actinomyces (6.5% to 9.6%, p = 0.006) and Corynebacterium (6.2% to 9.1%, p = 0.03) species were recorded. In addition, a significant decrease in Streptococcus (10.3% to 6.1%, p = 0.001) species was observed. Sugar-mediated changes returned to baseline conditions 14 days after the last sugar rinse. The present study shows that temporary sugar stress induces loss of diversity and compositional changes to the supragingival microbiota, which are reversible if oral care is maintained.

Probiotics Partly Suppress the Impact of Sugar Stress on the Oral Microbiota—A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Clinical examination details have previously been described [18,19]. In brief, levels of plaque and BOP% were registered at baseline, day 14, and day 28 (±2 days).…”

“…In this project, no samples failed, and all were therefore included in analyses. Bioinformatic processing of sequence data was performed as previously described [15,18,19] by matching against the 16S rRNA Human Oral Microbiome RefSeq database (HOMD) v. 15.2 [1].…”

Probiotics Support Resilience of the Oral Microbiota during Resolution after Experimental Gingivitis—A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Paraffin-stimulated saliva samples and supragingival plaque samples were collected at baseline, day 14, and day 28 (±2 days) on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. as previously described with minor modifications [8][9][10][11][12]. In brief, participants refrained from consuming any food or drink for two hours before the appointment to avoid stimulation of the salivary glands before the collection of the paraffin-stimulated saliva samples.…”

“…Clinical examinations were performed by the same examinator (CLO) in continuation of sample collection at baseline, day 14, and day 28 (±2 days). Levels of plaque were measured as previously described [10,11] using SUNSTAR G•U•M ®MD RED-COTE ®MD disclosing tablets and graded from 0 to 5 using the Modified Quigley and Hein index [13]. Bleeding on probing was categorized from 0 to 2, and bleeding percentage was calculated as previously reported [10,11].…”

“…Levels of plaque were measured as previously described [10,11] using SUNSTAR G•U•M ®MD RED-COTE ®MD disclosing tablets and graded from 0 to 5 using the Modified Quigley and Hein index [13]. Bleeding on probing was categorized from 0 to 2, and bleeding percentage was calculated as previously reported [10,11]. At baseline and day 28, participants performed their normal oral hygiene procedure (brushing and interdental cleaning twice a day) after the collection of supragingival plaque samples and before clinical examinations.…”