Bonnie Feldman
DDS, MBA, Los Angeles, CA
Title: The Oral Microbiome Gateway to Systemic Health – Easily Accessible Yet Underappreciated
Biography
Biography: Bonnie Feldman
Abstract
The oral microbiome is a galactic microcosm that is both a gateway and a mirror to the rest of the human body. Comprised of over 700 prevalent taxa at the species level with distinct subsets predominating in different habitats, the oral cavity is residence to diverse communities of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Balance and imbalance between this new ecosystem can influence the body’s state of health and disease.
Using advances in big data analytics, next generation sequencing, and systems immunology, we are beginning to understand that oral health may be an early indicator of other systemic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases.
With incidence of chronic disease on the rise, a better understanding of the oral microbiome and its connection to systemic diseases, is an opportunity for dentists to help their patients take charge of their health.