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Title: Low levels of salivary metals, oral microbiome composition and dental decay.

Authors: Davis, Elyse; Bakulski, Kelly M; Goodrich, Jaclyn M; Peterson, Karen E; Marazita, Mary L; Foxman, Betsy

Published In Sci Rep, (2020 09 04)

Abstract: Salivary microbiome composition can change following exposure to environmental toxicants, e.g., heavy metals. We hypothesized that levels of salivary nutrients and metals would correlate with salivary microbiome composition and be associated with dental decay. Here we assess the salivary concentrations of 5 essential minerals (cobalt, copper, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc), 4 metals with some evidence of normal physiological function (chromium, nickel, tungsten, and vanadium), and 12 with known toxicity (antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, cesium, lead, mercury, platinum, thallium, tin, and uranium), and their associations with salivary microbiome composition and dental decay in 61 children and adults. 16 metals were detected in 54% of participants; 8 were found in all. Marked differences in salivary bacterial taxa were associated with levels of antimony, arsenic, and mercury, after adjusting for multiple testing. Further, antimony levels were associated with the presence of decayed teeth. Thus, salivary metal levels, even at low concentrations, may impact oral health.

PubMed ID: 32887894 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adolescent; Adult; Arsenic/adverse effects; Arsenic/analysis*; Beryllium/analysis*; Child; DNA, Bacterial/genetics; Dental Caries/microbiology*; Environmental Exposure/analysis; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics*; Humans; Male; Metals, Heavy/adverse effects; Metals, Heavy/analysis*; Middle Aged; Oral Health; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics; Saliva/chemistry*; Saliva/microbiology*; Young Adult

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