Aim: The high prevalence of caries or tooth decay places a significant health and economic burden on society. New generation sequencing has led to a shift from caries resulting from an increased proliferation of a single species to a polymicrobial disease caused by the dysbiosis of the oral microbiome in certain individuals. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that oral microbiome transplantation (OMT) has potential to introduce a non-cariogenic oral microbiome into caries susceptible patients.
Methods: 3D printed flow cells (FCs) containing hydroxy apatite (HA) discs were inoculated with a human cariogenic inoculum (CI) and grown on artificial saliva media (ASM) for 10-days. FCs were then cleaned using chlorohexidine before inoculation with a non-cariogenic human inoculum (HMI) and grown for another 10-days. Samples were taken for 16sRNA sequencing, pH titration and metabolomics to determine whether successful OMT had occurred.
Results: Principal analysis plots based on species diversity showed that the CI and the 10-day biofilm clustered closely together. However, the CI biofilm clustered distantly from the HMI biofilm grown for 10-days. This indicates a significant shift in the microbial composition following the microbiome transplantation. Metabolomics performed on the cell free medium removed from the FCs before and after the transplant indicated significant differences between key metabolites.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest OMT can be performed in vitro and could prove to be an effective treatment for caries susceptible individuals.
Key words: Tooth decay, oral microbiome, polymicrobial disease, dysbiosis, biofilm