Title

Impact of orthodontic treatment on oral microbiome diversity and composition: A longitudinal study

Authors

Mohammad Khursheed Alam ^{1, 2, 3*}, Mohammad Younis Hajeer ⁴, M Alfaleh Muhanna Abdulrahim¹, Z Alfaleh Ayman Falah¹, F Alanazi Abdulmohsen Abdulkarim¹

Affiliation

¹Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka 72345, Saudi Arabia; ²Department of Dental Research Cell, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai 600077, India;  ³Department of Public Health, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Daffodil International University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh; ⁴Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Damascus, Damascus P.O. Box 16046, Syria; *Corresponding author

Email

Mohammad Khursheed Alam - E - mail: mkalam@ju.edu.sa

Mohammad Younis Hajeer - E - mail: myhajeer@gmail.com

Alfaleh Muhanna Abdulrahim M - E - mail: mhana.alfaleh.99@gmail.com

Alfaleh Ayman Falah Z - E - mail: aimanalzaal@gmail.com

Alanazi Abdulmohsen Abdulkarim F - E - mail: m7senn.015@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received January 1, 2025; Revised January 31, 2025; Accepted January 31, 2025, Published January 31, 2025

Abstract

The changes in oral microbiome diversity and composition during fixed orthodontic treatment using 16S rRNA sequencing are of interest to dentists. Saliva and plaque samples from 60 participants were analyzed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Alpha diversity significantly decreased at 3 months (mean: 2.8 ± 0.4) but partially recovered by 6 months (mean: 3.0 ± 0.3). Beta diversity analysis revealed significant microbial composition shifts (p < 0.01), with an increase in Streptococcus mutans and a decline in Streptococcus sanguinis. Orthodontic treatment alters the oral microbiome, emphasizing the need for enhanced oral hygiene to prevent dysbiosis.

Keywords

Orthodontic treatment, oral microbiome, diversity, microbial composition, fixed appliances, longitudinal study

Citation

Alam et al. Bioinformation 21(1): 62-65 (2025)

Edited by

Hiroj Bagde MDS, (PhD), PGDCR, PGDHHM, PGDL, PGDM

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.