Screening for microbiome modulators requires availability of a high throughput in vitro model that replicates subgingival dysbiosis and normobiosis, along with a tool to measure microbial dysbiosis. Here, we tested various formulations to grow health-and periodontitis-associated subgingival microbiomes in parallel, and describe a new subgingival dysbiosis index. Subgingival plaque samples pooled from five healthy, and separately, five periodontitis subjects were used to inoculate a Calgary Biofilm device containing saliva-conditioned, hydroxyapatite-coated pegs. Microbiomes were grown for 7 days on either nutrient-rich media, including a modification of SHI (mSHI), BHI supplemented with hemin and vitamin K (sBHI), and a blend of SHI and BHI (BSHI), each at three sucrose concentrations (0%, 0.05% and 0.1%), or nutrient-limited media (saliva with 5%, 10% or 20% inactivated human serum). The microbiomes were assessed for biomass, viability, and 16S rRNA profiles. In addition to richness and diversity, a dysbiosis index was calculated as the ratio of the sum of relative abundances of diseaseassociated species to that of health-associated species. sBHI and BSHI resulted in the highest biomass, whereas saliva-serum maximized viability. Distinct groups of bacteria were enriched in the different media. Regardless of medium type, the periodontitis-derived microbiomes showed higher species richness and alpha diversity and clustered with the respective inoculum separately from the healthderived microbiomes. Microbiomes grown in saliva-serum showed the highest species richness, and the highest similarity to the clinical inocula, both in health and disease. However, inclusion of serum reduced alpha diversity and increased dysbiosis in healthy microbiomes in a dose-dependent manner, mainly due to over-enrichment of Porphyromonas species. mSHI, stood second in terms of species richness and diversity, but resulted in low biomass and viability, and significantly worsened dysbiosis in the periodontitis-derived microbiomes. Overall, saliva with 5% human serum was optimal for replicating subgingival microbiomes from health and disease.