Characterising healthy Australian oral microbiomes for 'super donor' selection.

Objectives: Among healthy people, we understand very little about the sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dental hygiene behaviours that shape their oral microbiota. This study investigates how sociodemographic, lifestyle and dental hygiene behaviours shape oral microbiota diversity and composition in an Australian population to better inform healthy oral microbiota donors for Oral Microbiota Transplantation (OMT).

Methods: The study comprised 93 healthy adults who underwent comprehensive oral examinations and questionnaires to assess their health status.

Characterising the role of enolase in a stable Small Colony Variant of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a diabetic foot infection patient with osteomyelitis.

The switch to alternate cell types by Staphylococcus aureus creates sub-populations even within an active population, that are highly resilient, tolerant to antibiotics and lack clinical symptoms of infection. These cells present a challenge for clinical treatment where even after initial intervention has seemingly cleared the infection, these alternate cell types persist within tissue to revert and cause disease. Small colony variants (SCV) are a cell type which facilitate persistent infection but clinically isolated SCVs are often unstable in laboratory conditions.

Development of "Intelligent particles" for the treatment of dental caries.

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases worldwide, mediated by a multispecies biofilm that consists of high levels of acidogenic bacteria which ferment sugar to acid and cause teeth demineralization. Current treatment practice remains insufficient in addressing 1) rapid clearance of therapeutic agents from the oral environment 2) destroying bacteria that contribute to the healthy oral microbiome. In addition, increasing concerns over antibiotic resistance calls for innovative alternatives.

Development of an in vitro biofilm model of the human supra-gingival microbiome for Oral microbiome transplantation.

The high prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease place a significant burden on society, both socially and economically. Recent advances in genomic technologies have linked both diseases to shifts in the oral microbiota - a community of >700 bacterial species that live within the mouth. The development of oral microbiome transplantation draws on the success of fecal microbiome transplantation for the treatment of gut pathologies associated with disease.

Oral microbiome research from a public health perspective and implications for oral health.

Advancing oral microbiome research has revealed the association between oral microbiome composition and oral disease. However, much of the research has predominantly focused on comparing health and disease conditions, overlooking the potential dental public health implications. This article examines the evolution of oral microbial research from inception, advancement, and current knowledge of health-associated microbiota.