Defining the Normal Bacterial Flora of the Oral Cavity

More than 700 bacterial species or phylotypes, of which over 50% have not been cultivated, have been detected in the oral cavity. Our purposes were (i) to utilize culture-independent molecular techniques to extend our knowledge on the breadth of bacterial diversity in the healthy human oral cavity, including not-yet-cultivated bacteria species, and (ii) to determine the site and subject specificity of bacterial colonization. Nine sites from five clinically healthy subjects were analyzed. Sites included tongue dorsum, lateral sides of tongue, buccal epithelium, hard palate, soft palate, supragingival plaque of tooth surfaces, subgingival plaque, maxillary anterior vestibule, and tonsils. 16S rRNA genes from…

• UI
  Universitetet i Oslo
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• NI
  National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research