Illuminating dental caries pathogenesis in diabetes

Researchers may have discovered the mechanisms through which diabetes raises the risk of dental caries.

In a study published in Microbiome, the researchers performed untargeted metabolomics profiling to compare sublingual and submandibular gland saliva with plasma and whole saliva in 31 participants who had Type 2 diabetes and 30 controls.

The researchers found that the cardiometabolic indicators were more easily detected in glandular saliva profiles compared with whole saliva profiles. Higher glucose and fructose levels were more positively correlated with glycemic parameters in plasma followed by glandular saliva and whole saliva. The researchers indicated that saccharides could migrate to the oral cavity through plasma. They emphasized that plasma-to-saliva saccharide migration could lead to microbial consumption and subsequent supragingival microbiome dysbiosis — including declines in Streptococcus sanguinis, Corynebacterium durum and Rothia aeria and increases in Streptococcus mutans, Veillonella parvula and Actinomyces sp. oral taxon 448.

The findings suggested that better glycemic control could mitigate changes brought on by saccharide migration by minimizing the dominance of pathogenic bacterial species.

Read more: Microbiome

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