OB 2019 : Oral Bacteria

Dear Colleagues,

Oral bacteria account for the majority of the oral microbiome, and has been studied extensively in health and disease. Among the 700 species of oral bacteria, earlier studies only focused on a specific group of bacteria that cause major oral diseases, such as periodontitis. However, there is now a paradigm shift in research, focusing on many un-cultivable oral bacteria and their community dynamics in causing diseases. Studies in the past few years have shown the causal relationship of many oral bacteria in important systemic diseases. Because of their strong community synergism, biofilm-forming oral bacteria have been extensively studied and have recently been brought to light new findings on pathogen and bacterial profiles in health and disease states. With the key stone pathogen concept in causing dysbiotic communities. The mechanisms used by oral bacteria to cause such dysbiosis are unclear, but their virulence factors are known to effectively subvert host defenses to their advantage, allowing other pathogens to grow. Microbial pathogens have evolved multiple strategies for interacting with host cell components and plays a significant role in causing dysbiosis. Hence, oral bacterial profiling and studies on population changes have been seriously looked into diagnosis and treatment. For this Special Issue on “Oral Bacteria”, we invite you to submit articles related to the oral microbiome, host–pathogen interactions, the causal relationship of oral bacteria in systemic diseases, and oral bacterial virulence and pathogenesis. We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Aruni Wilson
Guest Editor