Nature vs. Nurture in Oral Health: Nurture Wins
It is a well-known fact that the mouth contains a variety of microorganisms, some good and some bad. Traditionally, little was known about what dictates which microorganisms live there and which do not. A recent study published by Genome Research investigated whether nature or nurture has more influence in determining oral microbiota and found that environment plays more of a role than genetics.
The oral microbiota (the microorganisms that exist in each person's mouth) starts forming as soon as a baby is born. The differences in oral microbiota influence a person's immunity and therefore change prevention and treatment programs. The researchers did a study comparing the salivary microbiomes of identical twins to further investigate whether the oral microbiota is influenced by genetics or environment.
Identical twins share the same genetic makeup and a common environmental upbringing. Surprisingly, the authors found that the salivary microbiomes of the identical twins were no more similar than those of fraternal twins, who only share half of the same genes.
Another interesting finding was the fact that the oral microbiomes of the identical twins became even less similar when the twins moved away from each other. These findings suggest that genes do not control the make up of the oral microbiota as much as environment does.
This study is a great basis for future research. Knowing more about how the oral microbiota is formed will better inform research on oral immunity.
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/251417.php
R. Eric Emery, DDS
Smile Station Dental
2901 Dougherty Ferry Rd, Suite 400
St. Louis, MO 63122
(314)821-7100
smilestationdental.com
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