Bacteriophages: the dawn of a new era in periodontal microbiology?

Abstract

The oral microbiome, populated by a diverse range of species, plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of periodontal disease. The most dominant yet little-discussed players in the microbiome, the bacteriophages, influence the health and disease of the host in various ways. They, not only contribute to periodontal health by preventing the colonization of pathogens and disrupting biofilms but also play a role in periodontal disease by upregulating the virulence of periodontal pathogens through the transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence factors. Since bacteriophages selectively infect only bacterial cells, they have an enormous scope to be used as a therapeutic strategy; recently, phage therapy has been successfully used to treat antibiotic-resistant systemic infections. Their ability to disrupt biofilms widens the scope against periodontal pathogens and dental plaque biofilms in periodontitis. Future research focussing on the oral phageome and phage therapy’s effectiveness and safety could pave way for new avenues in periodontal therapy. This review explores our current understanding of bacteriophages, their interactions in the oral microbiome, and their therapeutic potential in periodontal disease.

Keywords:

• Bacteriophages
• periodontal microbiology
• phage therapy
• dental plaque

Author contributions

1. Dr Shashikiran Shanmugasundaram conceived the title, the design and structure of the paper, contributed to the main text and designed the original figures in the manuscript.

2. Dr Namratha Nayak contributed to the main text, verified and revised the manuscript.

3. Dr Lakshmi Puzhankara contributed to the main text, guided the writing process and participated in the final approval of the text.

4. Dr Madhurya N Kedlaya contributed to the main text, supervised and verified the language and grammatical correctness of the main text

5. Dr Anjale Rajagopal contributed to the main text and helped in revising the manuscript.

6. Dr Shaswata Karmakar contributed to the main text, supervised the writing process and provided the final approval.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.