Growth and treatment of oral biofilms

Abstract

From the ecological perspective, preserving symbiotic biofilms should be a keystone in the prevention of oral diseases. The results of in vitro and in vivo studies of this thesis have shown that the use of an oxygenating agent (AX) showed selective inhibition of oral bacteria which may lead to a healthier ecosystem. The results indicate that AX containing mouthwash may contribute to this demanding balance and deserves further investigation. The development of a novel subgingival biofilm model led to the growth of bacteria known to be associated with periodontal disease such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Peptostreptococcus, Fusobacterium, Filifactor, Phocaeicola, Anaeroglobus, and Mogibacterium among other 47 genera. An important finding was that statistically significant differences in bacterial composition were consistently found in biofilms derived from different inoculum donors. This finding reflects the large variability in the subgingival microbial composition in vivo among periodontitis patients and healthy donors. The development of a peri-implantitis biofilm model needs to be further investigated. Periodontal disease is associated with alterations of the complex microbial community rather than dominance of a single pathogenic species. The analysis of specific subgingival bacterial profiles for the decision to prescribe antibiotics in the treatment of periodontitis is currently not recommend. Authors also highlighted the need for alternative therapies based on ecological approaches. Instead of aiming to kill “pathogens”, the search to restore the symbiotic biofilm by other means than using antibiotics are of interest