Oral microbiome dysbiosis among cigarette smokers and smokeless tobacco users compared to non-users

Tobacco use significantly influences the oral microbiome. However, less is known about how different tobacco products specifically impact the oral microbiome over time. To address this knowledge gap, we characterized the oral microbiome of cigarette users, smokeless tobacco users, and non-users over 4 months (four time points). Buccal swab and saliva samples (n = 611) were collected from 85 participants. DNA was extracted from all samples and sequencing was carried out on an Illumina MiSeq, targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Cigarette and smokeless tobacco users had more diverse oral bacterial communities, including a higher relative abundance of Firmicutes and a lower relative abundance of Proteobacteria, when compared to non-users. Non-users had a higher relative abundance of Actinomyces, Granulicatella, Haemophilus, Neisseria, Oribacterium, Prevotella, Pseudomonas, Rothia, and Veillonella in buccal swab samples, compared to tobacco users. While the most abundant bacterial genera were relatively constant over time, some species demonstrated significant shifts in relative abundance between the first and last time points. In addition, some opportunistic pathogens were detected among tobacco users including Neisseria subflava, Bulleidia moorei and Porphyromonas endodontalis. Overall, our results provide a more holistic understanding of the structure of oral bacterial communities in tobacco users compared to non-users.