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Updated: Feb 20, 2026
Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
The dental calculus metabolome in modern and historic samples
Irina M Velsko1,2, Katherine A Overmyer3, Camilla Speller4
1The Palaeogenomics and Bio-Archaeology Research Network, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY UK.
Introduction:
Dental calculus is a mineralized microbial dental plaque biofilm that forms throughout life by precipitation of salivary calcium salts. Successive cycles of dental plaque growth and calcification make it an unusually well-preserved, long-term record of host-microbial interaction in the archaeological record. Recent studies have confirmed the survival of authentic ancient DNA and proteins within historic and prehistoric dental calculus, making it a promising substrate for investigating oral microbiome evolution via direct measurement and comparison of modern and ancient specimens.
Objective:
We present the first comprehensive characterization of the human dental calculus metabolome using a multi-platform approach.
Methods:
Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) quantified 285 metabolites in modern and historic (200 years old) dental calculus, including metabolites of drug and dietary origin. A subset of historic samples was additionally analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography-MS (GC-MS) and UPLC-MS/MS for further characterization of metabolites and lipids. Metabolite profiles of modern and historic calculus were compared to identify patterns of persistence and loss.
Results:
Dipeptides, free amino acids, free nucleotides, and carbohydrates substantially decrease in abundance and ubiquity in archaeological samples, with some exceptions. Lipids generally persist, and saturated and mono-unsaturated medium and long chain fatty acids appear to be well-preserved, while metabolic derivatives related to oxidation and chemical degradation are found at higher levels in archaeological dental calculus than fresh samples.
Conclusions:
The results of this study indicate that certain metabolite classes have higher potential for recovery over long time scales and may serve as appropriate targets for oral microbiome evolutionary studies.
