Impact of Oral Microbiome in Periodontal Health and Periodontitis: A Critical Review on Prevention and Treatment

The skin, oral cavity, digestive and reproductive tracts of the human body harbor symbiotic and commensal microorganisms living harmoniously with the host. The oral cavity houses one of the most heterogeneous microbial communities found in the human organism, ranking second in terms of species diversity and complexity only to the gastrointestinal microbiota and including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses. The accumulation of microbial plaque in the oral cavity may lead, in susceptible individuals, to a complex host-mediated inflammatory and immune response representing the primary etiological factor of periodontal damage that occurs in periodontitis. Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition…