The oral microbiome is a relatively unexplored component of oral health and disease. Common oral diseases, including dental caries and periodontitis, are now best understood as dysbiotic shifts of the oral microbial ecology. Prosthodontics is a cornerstone of clinical dentistry, serving to promote oral health through dental rehabilitation. However, it remains unknown if and to what degree prosthodontic treatment confers changes in the oral microbiome.

In this observational clinical study, we studied the effects of fixed dental prosthodontic restorative treatment on the oral microbiome composition. Prosthodontic patients' salivary samples were collected during their treatment course. Microbiome analyses relied upon whole genome sequencing (WGS) shotgun. Reads were aligned, mapped and analyzed to obtain measures relative abundance and diversity, as well as group and time differences. Results to-date have provided novel insights into oral microbiome changes during prosthodontic treatment that may characterize global transitions of clinical oral disease states to health.