Oral Prevalence of Selenomonas Noxia Differs Among Orthodontic Patients Compared to Non-Orthodontic Controls: A Retrospective Biorepository Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The introduction of fixed orthodontic brackets in orthodontic therapy has the potential to significantly alter the oral microbial flora. Most orthodontic research has focused on cariogenic pathogens, while some evidence has demonstrated an increase in many known periodontal pathogens. However, little is known about the prevalence of the gram-negative periodontal pathogen, Selenomonas noxia (SN) among these patients.Methods: Using an existing saliva biorepository, n=208 samples from adult and pediatric orthodontic and non-orthodontic patients were identified and screened for the presence of SN using qPCR and validated primers. Results: In the pediatric study sample (n=89) 36% tested positive for the presence of SN with orthodontic patients comprising more SN- positive samples (87.5%) than SN-negative samples (78.9%), p=0.0271. In the adult study sample (n=119 ), SN was found in 28.6% with orthodontic patients comprising 58.8% of positive samples and only 28.2% of negative samples,, p\u3c 0.0001. Conclusions: These data demonstrated that both pediatric and adult orthodontic patients exhibited higher prevalence of SN compared with age-matched non-orthodontic controls. As this organism is associated not only with periodontal disease, but long-term health issues such as obesity, more research is needed regarding the factors that increase prevalence of this organism