Ecological therapeutic opportunities for oral diseases

The oral microbiome is formed by hundreds of microbial species, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and viruses, which coexist in specific and organized arrangements in the different habitats of the oral cavity (1 - 8). Oral subhabitats include the mucosa, covered by keratinized and nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium, the papillary surface of the tongue dorsum, and the hard structures of teeth, which comprise those above (supragingival) and those below (subgingival) the gingival margin. The distinct environmental characteristics found in each of these habitats promote the development of unique microbial communities that, although living in close proximity, can be clearly discriminated from each other (9 - 12). Moreover, the microbial composition of these communities is critical to oral health, with the main oral diseases characterized by deleterious alterations in microbiome community structure at specific subhabitats (13, 14).