Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time

Abstract The oral microbial profile in humans has evolved in response to lifestyle changes over the course of different eras. Here, we investigated tooth lesions and the microbial profile of periodontal bacteria (PB) in dental calculus of a Sardinian pre-industrial rural community. In total, 51 teet...

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Main Authors: Eleonora Casula, Maria Paola Contu, Cristina Demontis, Ferdinando Coghe, Giorgio Carlo Steri, Alessandra Scano, Maria Laura Ferrando, Germano Orrù
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-09-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20193-9
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author Eleonora Casula
Maria Paola Contu
Cristina Demontis
Ferdinando Coghe
Giorgio Carlo Steri
Alessandra Scano
Maria Laura Ferrando
Germano Orrù
author_facet Eleonora Casula
Maria Paola Contu
Cristina Demontis
Ferdinando Coghe
Giorgio Carlo Steri
Alessandra Scano
Maria Laura Ferrando
Germano Orrù
author_sort Eleonora Casula
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The oral microbial profile in humans has evolved in response to lifestyle changes over the course of different eras. Here, we investigated tooth lesions and the microbial profile of periodontal bacteria (PB) in dental calculus of a Sardinian pre-industrial rural community. In total, 51 teeth belonging to 12 historical individuals buried in an ossuary in the early 1800s and 26 modern teeth extracted from 26 individuals from the same geographical area were compared to determine the oral health status, bacterial load and amount of most relevant PB. Total caries and bacterial genomes count appeared to be sex-related in historical samples. Historical females presented a higher incidence of caries, PB pathogens and a higher bacterial load than historical males. Furthermore, we compared the PB profile of the historical individuals with the modern ones, revealing a notable increase in modern individuals of PB belonging to “Red complex bacteria” often associated with periodontitis and other chronic diseases of modern life. Our findings could be explained through an analysis of environmental factors such as socioeconomic, hygienic and healthy conditions that can have a great impact on oral health and bacterial composition among individuals of the same and different eras.
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spelling doaj.art-20cd2da1d0e04cedba875b1321ed6d922022-12-22T03:48:06ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-09-0112111110.1038/s41598-022-20193-9Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern timeEleonora Casula0Maria Paola Contu1Cristina Demontis2Ferdinando Coghe3Giorgio Carlo Steri4Alessandra Scano5Maria Laura Ferrando6Germano Orrù7Section of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of CagliariMolecular Biology Service (AOU-Cagliari), Department of Surgical Sciences, University of CagliariMolecular Biology Service (AOU-Cagliari), Department of Surgical Sciences, University of CagliariLaboratorio Analisi Clinico-Microbiologiche, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria (AOU)Azienda Per La Tutela Della Salute (ATS), Aree Socio-Sanitarie Locali (ASSL) of CagliariMolecular Biology Service (AOU-Cagliari), Department of Surgical Sciences, University of CagliariMolecular Biology Service (AOU-Cagliari), Department of Surgical Sciences, University of CagliariMolecular Biology Service (AOU-Cagliari), Department of Surgical Sciences, University of CagliariAbstract The oral microbial profile in humans has evolved in response to lifestyle changes over the course of different eras. Here, we investigated tooth lesions and the microbial profile of periodontal bacteria (PB) in dental calculus of a Sardinian pre-industrial rural community. In total, 51 teeth belonging to 12 historical individuals buried in an ossuary in the early 1800s and 26 modern teeth extracted from 26 individuals from the same geographical area were compared to determine the oral health status, bacterial load and amount of most relevant PB. Total caries and bacterial genomes count appeared to be sex-related in historical samples. Historical females presented a higher incidence of caries, PB pathogens and a higher bacterial load than historical males. Furthermore, we compared the PB profile of the historical individuals with the modern ones, revealing a notable increase in modern individuals of PB belonging to “Red complex bacteria” often associated with periodontitis and other chronic diseases of modern life. Our findings could be explained through an analysis of environmental factors such as socioeconomic, hygienic and healthy conditions that can have a great impact on oral health and bacterial composition among individuals of the same and different eras.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20193-9
spellingShingle Eleonora Casula
Maria Paola Contu
Cristina Demontis
Ferdinando Coghe
Giorgio Carlo Steri
Alessandra Scano
Maria Laura Ferrando
Germano Orrù
Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time
Scientific Reports
title Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time
title_full Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time
title_fullStr Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time
title_full_unstemmed Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time
title_short Changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a Sardinian rural community from pre-industrial to modern time
title_sort changes in the oral status and periodontal pathogens in a sardinian rural community from pre industrial to modern time
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20193-9
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