The Role of the Oral Microbiome in the Development and Treatment of Periodontal Disease: Functional Meta-Omics...

The oral microbiome, mainly includes microorganisms located in supragingival and subgingival plaques. These bacterial communities maintain the stability of specific niches and host immune homeostasis by forming a complex regulatory network, thereby maintaining periodontal health. Local periodontal dysbiosis occurs when this stability is disrupted, which leads to the excessive production of toxic products. Recent advances in meta-omics technologies have revealed the characters of the oral microbiome. In this review, we discuss the most recent insights into the oral microbiome associated with periodontal disease, mainly focusing on the bacterial members. The composition, function and metabolic programs of these bacterial members under conditions of periodontal health and periodontal disease development, as well as their interactions with host cells, are also discussed. This review aims to provide guidance for establishing models for periodontal disease risk prediction, diagnosis and prognosis evaluation based on microbiome indices. Additionally, this paper analyses the potential mechanism by which dysbiosis may affect the occurrence and development of periodontal disease, emphasizes the role of the core microbiome, and provides potential solutions for the development of new therapeutic strategies and targets to promote microbiome homeostasis. Finally, the important remaining questions in this field and critical points for future research are discussed.