oral microbiome

Healthy Mouth?

Posted on by Dr. Neusha Najafi
Every dentist knows this patient. Great home care. Minimal bleeding. Stable radiographs. Nothing particularly alarming on the periodontal chart. Maybe they’re even the patient you expect to have the best results. Then you run a salivary test and find elevated Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, or several periodontal pathogens at levels that simply don’t match the mouth you just examined. Now what? Is the patient healthy, or is the saliva test telling us something ...
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Discover What Saliva Can Reveal About Whole-Body Health at the NYDHA 2026 Empire Conference

Posted on by Nichelle Venable, BSDH, RDH
Dental hygienists play an important role in recognizing the connections between oral health and overall wellness. At the 2026 NYDHA Empire Conference, attendees will have an opportunity to explore how salivary diagnostics can support this connection and help advance preventive, personalized patient care. Taking place November 6–8 at the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge, New York, the annual conference brings dental hygiene professionals together for continuing education, networking,...
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The Three Pillars of Periodontal Healing: Why Identifying the Infection Matters

Posted on by Lee Sheldon DMD PA
Over the course of my career, some of the most satisfying—and often surprising—results I have seen in periodontal practice have come from balancing what I call the three pillars of periodontal healing: root cleanliness, control of the infectious component, and occlusion. All three matter. But for this discussion, I want to begin with the infectious component because it raises an interesting question: If we believe we are treating an infection, shouldn't we try to identify what we are trea...
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Throwback: Six Mouth Infections You Need to Get Rid of if You Have Heart Disease

Posted on by Cass Nelson-Dooley MS
Address Oral Health to Prevent Heart Attacks, Strokes, and High Blood Pressure When you ask most people, “What can you do to treat heart disease?” they will say “diet and exercise.” But how many people mention mouth bacteria at the top of the list for turning around heart disease? Even medical doctors rarely mention this as a top contributor to heart disease. While diet and exercise are critical, don’t overlook the sinister bacteria lurking in the mouth that cause gum infections and send the ...
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The Missing Link Between Bacterial Testing and Clinical Decision-Making

Posted on by Lindsey Bieligk, MSDH, RDH
Salivary bacterial testing has transformed the way we identify periodontal pathogens and assess disease risk. Instead of relying solely on clinical findings, today's clinicians have access to biologic data that provides a more personalized understanding of each patient's oral microbiome. However, as testing becomes more widely adopted, many dental professionals are encountering an unexpected challenge: interpreting the results is often easier than knowing what to do next. Receiving a labo...
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Throwback: Leaky Gum Syndrome & The Oral-Systemic Link

Posted on by Cass Nelson-Dooley MS
Few of us think much about the health of our mouth lining unless our gums are swollen and red or if we have mouth pain. But the tissue lining your gums and the inside of your mouth is vitally important to keeping you safe from heart disease, joint pain, and brain disease. How do healthy gums protect you from all of that? Your mouth lining is a critical defense between infections in your mouth and the rest of your body. Bleeding, swollen, or sore gums can point to a weak defense in the mouth ...
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Periodontal Endoscopy: Seeing What Stops Periodontal Disease

Posted on by Lee Sheldon DMD PA
“The critical determinant in periodontal therapy is not the technique (surgical or non-surgical) used for the treatment of the periodontal pocket, but the quality of the debridement of the root surface." — Jan Lindhe, Journal of Clinical Periodontology (1984) That statement is not philosophical; it is clinical reality. Root surfaces must be truly clean for inflammation to resolve and for periodontal stability to occur. Multiple studies have shown that clinicians cannot reliably clean b...
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Virtual Interview with Dr. Rob Frey

Posted on by Rob Frey, DDS, MPH
Dr. Ron McGlennen: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started in your profession. What is your driver to do what you do? Dr. Rob Frey: I have a passion for blending esthetic dentistry, functional dentistry, and whole-body health. My journey into dentistry started with a desire to work in healthcare in a way that combined science, artistry, and meaningful human connection. I was drawn to the idea that dentistry allows you to not only restore health, but also confidence, comfort,...
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Hormonal Contraceptives and the Oral Microbiome: The Missing First Signal in Salivary Diagnostics

Posted on by Dr. Neusha Najafi
We’re Having the Wrong Conversation The debate around hormonal contraceptives has grown louder and more polarized. Mood changes. Inflammation. Fertility concerns. Some of these concerns are valid. Much is oversimplified. But almost all of it misses the starting point. We are debating hormones while ignoring the environment they enter. We keep focusing on hormones in isolation. Ovaries, cycles, receptors. More recently, the gut microbiome has entered the discussion through the estrobo...
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The Mouth Is Talking. Are We Listening?

Posted on by Dr. Valerie Kanter, DMD, MS; Dr. Mary Ellen Chalmers, DMD, IFMCP; Dr. Staci Whitman, DMD, IFMCP
For decades, dentistry has focused solely on what we can see. Lesions, pockets, radiolucencies, and wear patterns have guided our treatment planning and shaped the way we understand disease. These visual cues are essential, but what if the most important data about our patients’ health has been communicated all along through the oral microbiome and revealed through… SPIT? At the Institute for Functional Dentistry (IFD), we teach dentists systems biology and timeline medicine, creating a s...
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