Healthy Bacteria Play Surprising Role in Gum Disease
Developing gum disease may require not only bad bacteria but also a benign background microbiota, researchers reported in Cell Host and Microbe.When the gingivitis-associated Porphyromonas gingivalis was introduced at low levels into the mouths of normal mice, it triggered a substantial growth in the healthy bacteria already there, and the ensuing periodontal disease led to bone loss.But no such thing happened when the gingivitis bacteria were introduced to mice with sterile mouths that harbored no normal bacteria.
It seems that a single species, even at low levels, can disrupt the stability of the bacterial ecosystem in the mouth, the researchers noted.This may open up opportunities to fight periodontal disease by targeting the factor that gingivitis bacteria use to scramble signaling pathways of the protective leukocytes that keep the overall microbiota under control, they suggested.