Association between dental flossing frequency and oral microbiome in U.S. adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The oral microbiome is vital for health, yet population-based evidence on how self-reported flossing relates to microbial communities remains limited. This study examined the association between self-reported dental flossing frequency and oral microbiome diversity in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.

Methods

This cross-sectional analysis included 4,772 adults aged 30-69 from NHANES 2009-2012. Flossing frequency was categorized as non-users (0 days/week), some flossing (1-6 days/week), and daily users (7 days/week). Oral microbiome composition was profiled using 16S rRNA sequencing. α-diversity was calculated using Observed amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), Shannon, Inverse Simpson, and Faith's Phylogenetic Diversity (PD); β-diversity using Bray-C

SUBMITTER: Xu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12818320 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature