Influence of smoking heating up tobacco products and e-cigarettes on the microbiota of dental plaque.

Unlabelled: Electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDDs) are getting more and more popular among adolescents and young people under 25, signifying the beginning of tobacco product use for many of them. The state of the local microbiota can be affected by a large number of factors, namely the inhaled aerosol temperature, the oral cavity ph, the diet nature, genetics, etc.

Aim: The aim of the study was to identify the changes of dental microbiocenosis among adolescents who use devices for heating tobacco products and vape.

Materials And Methods: The study was perfomed in 65 adolescents, aged 14 to 18, who were divided into three groups: the first (control) group consisted of 20 non-smokers, the second group comprised 25 patients who used a tobacco heating system, and the third group - 20 subjects who used electronic vape cigarettes. For microbiological examination, the swabs from the teeth cervical region plaque were taken.

Results: The control group was dominated by S. mitis (10 strains - 35.7%), followed by E. faecium (5 strains - 17.9%) and E. coli (4 strains - 14.3%). For heating tobacco, the most common were S. mitis (11 strains - 23.9%), S. aureus (6 strains - 13.0%) and E. faecium and C. xerosis (5 strains - 10.9%). Among the vape systems users, the most common species was S. pneumoniae (17.9%), followed by S. mitis, E. faecium and C. xerosis (12.8% each).

Conclusions: The use of electronic smoking systems reduces the number of resident plaque microflora by increasing the excretion frequency and the emergence of opportunistic transient streptococci, namely S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes with an epidemiologically significant level of colonization.