Fluoride Depletes Acidogenic Taxa in Oral but Not Gut Microbial Communities in Mice.

ABSTRACT: Fluoridation of drinking water and dental products prevents dental caries primarily by inhibiting energy harvest in oral cariogenic bacteria (such as Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis), thus leading to their depletion. However, the extent to which oral and gut microbial communities are affected by host fluoride exposure has been underexplored. In this study, we modeled human fluoride exposures to municipal water and dental products by treating mice with low or high levels of fluoride over a 12-week period. We then used 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to assess fluoride's effects on oral and gut microbiome composition and function. In both the low- and high-fluoride groups, several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to acidoge

SUBMITTER: Yasuda K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5547758 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature