Salivary screening for Selenomonas noxia in the oral cavity of pediatric patients

Abstract

The oral microbiome may be affected by patient medications, disease conditions and systemic disorders. Selenomonas noxia is an anaerobic, motile, non spore-forming, gram-negative rod that has been repeatedly associated with periodontal disease and other disorders, including obesity. Based upon the paucity of evidence regarding oral prevalence, the objective of was to evaluate S. noxia prevalence by sampling saliva from the oral cavity to screen for this pathogen. Using an existing saliva repository, DNA was isolated and screened using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Demographic analysis of study samples and qPCR results was also performed. Approximately half of the samples (n=96) were derived from females (51%) and the majority were from Hispanic patients (62.5%). Following DNA isolation and qPCR screening 37.5% (n=35) were found to harbor S. noxia DNA, which was more prevalent among the samples derived from adults (n=22 or 22.9%) than pediatric patients (n=13 or 13.5%). This study provides novel information regarding the oral prevalence of S. noxia among both pediatric and adult populations from a dental school population. These data are an important part of the overall epidemiologic analysis of this organism and may provide some initial information regarding the risk for periodontal or other health issues related to the presence among these populations.