BackgroundToday there are more than 2 billion alcohol users and about 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide. The chronic and heavy use of these two substances is at the heart of numerous diseases and may wreak havoc on the human oral microbiome. This study delves into the changes that alcohol and tobacco may cause on biofilms of the human oral microbiome. To do so, we used swabs to sample the oral biofilm of 22 subjects; including 9 control-individuals with no or very low consumption of alcohol and no consumption of tobacco, 7 who were chronic and heavy users of both substances and 6 active smokers that reported no significant alcohol consumption. DNA was extracted from swabs and the V1 region of the 16S rRNA gene was PCR amplified and sequenced using the Ion Torrent PGM platform, generating 3.7 million high quality reads. DNA sequences were clustered and OTUs were assigned using the ARB SILVA database and Qiime.ResultsWe found no differences in species diversity and evenness among the groups. However, we found a significant decrease in species richness in only smokers and in smokers/drinkers when compared to controls. We found that Neisseria abundance was significantly decreased in both groups when compared to controls. Smokers had significant increases in Prevotella and Capnocytophaga and reductions in Granulicatella, Staphylococcus, Peptostreptococcus and Gemella when compared to the two other groups. Controls showed higher abundance of Aggregibacter, whilst smokers/drinkers had lower abundances of Fusobacteria. Samples from only smokers clustered closer together than to controls and smokers/drinkers, and also had a significant reduction in inter-group dissimilarity distances, indicating a more homogenous group than controls.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the continued use of tobacco or alcohol plus tobacco significantly reduces bacterial richness, which apparently leads to a reduction in inter-group variability, turning the respective biofilms into a more homogenous microenvironment in terms of bacterial community composition, with possible consequences for human oral diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-014-0250-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Purpose This study evaluated the discriminatory power of salivary transcriptomic and proteomic biomarkers in distinguishing oral cancer (OSCC) cases from controls and potentially malignant oral disorders (PMOD). Experimental design A total of 180 samples (60 OSCC patients, 60 controls and 60 PMOD patients) were used in the study. Seven transcriptomic markers (IL-8, IL-1β, SAT1, OAZ1, DUSP1, S100P, H3F3A) were measured using quantitative real time PCR and two proteomic markers (IL-8 and IL-1β) were evaluated by ELISA. Results Among 7 transcriptomic markers, transcript level of DUSP1 was significantly lower in OSCC patients than in controls and PMOD patients. Between the proteomic markers, the protein concentration of IL-8 and IL-1β was significantly higher in OSCC patients than controls and dysplasia patients. Univariate fractional polynomial models revealed that salivary IL-8 protein has the highest AUC value between OSCC patients and controls (0.74) and between OSCC and PMOD patients (0.72). Applying a 2-markers fractional polynomial model, salivary IL-8 protein combined with IL-1β gave the best AUC value for discrimination between OSCC patients and controls, as well as the IL-8 protein combined with H3F3A mRNA gave the best AUC value for discrimination between OSCC and PMOD patients. Multivariate models analysis combining salivary analytes and risk factor exposure related to oral carcinogenesis formed the best combinatory variables for differentiation between OSCC vs PMOL (AUC=0.80), OSCC vs controls (AUC=0.87) and PMOD vs. controls (AUC=0.78). Conclusions Combination of transcriptomic and proteomic salivary markers is of great value for oral cancer detection and differentiation from PMOD patients and controls.

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a multifactorial condition which is still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate a group of patients with BMS, as compared to a control group, and to describe related local and systemic factors. Records of patients referred to the Oral Pathology Service at the School of Dentistry over a period of 7 years were considered for the study, within which 32 patients with a diagnosis of BMS were found. A randomized group matched for age and gender was also evaluated for the study. Data were analyzed statistically using the SPSS 12.0 for Windows. Prevalence of BMS was 0.99% (32 BMS patients/3,243 records), considering that females were more commonly affected than were males and that the majority of the individuals were in their sixties. The univariate analysis performed comparing the two groups revealed statistical differences concerning the presence of gastrointestinal diseases (p = 0.003) and urogenital diseases (p = 0.012). The intake of H-2 receptor antagonist and proton pump inhibitor drugs (p = 0.015) also proved to be significant. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that gastrointestinal and urogenital problems were indeed risk factors that were solely associated with BMS. Although a diversity of related factors could be identified, gastrointestinal problems were the most prevalent, suggesting that the management of BMS patients requires attention and an appropriate approach to such disorders.

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