In this episode, we’re connecting the dots between the oral microbiome and overall health and talking about the fascinating link between the mouth and the heart, and how tiny microbes play a big role.  

Our guest for this episode is Dr. Jessica Mark Welch, a Senior Scientist and Full Professor at the ADA Forsyth Institute in Somerville, MA.  Dr. Mark Welch and her team use both imaging and DNA sequencing approaches to investigate the structure and organization of the oral microbiome. She is co-developer of the Combinatorial Labeling and Spectral Imaging-Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (CLASI-FISH) strategy for imaging the spatial organization of microbial communities, with which she and her colleagues have discovered highly organized, complex structures in human dental plaque and on the human tongue. Her group uses DNA sequence data to construct pangenomes of oral microbes and examines metagenomic data to investigate why different bacteria live where they do, and how we can encourage the growth of health-promoting bacteria in the mouth. Dr. Mark Welch curates the Human Oral Microbiome Database to provide the research community with high-quality, curated information about oral bacteria, their genomes, and their distribution throughout the mouth. 

Dr. Mark Welch explains her work with oral microbiome, and the connection between heart health and oral health. She shares that the mouth contains hundreds of bacterial species that form distinct communities on teeth (dental plaque) and on the tongue (tongue biofilm). A balanced oral microbiome supports normal metabolism and contributes to blood pressure regulation. 

Researchers are investigating why so many different bacterial species coexist in the mouth and how these interdependent microbial communities share metabolic functions to support each other. 

Dr. Mark Welch says her research explores how differences in people’s mouth bacteria might explain varied responses. 

The conversation shifts to the implications of microbiome research for oral health and how a deeper understanding of bacterial communities could eventually influence approaches to patient care.  

Learn more about the research from the ADA Forsyth Science Institute. 

See what makes ADA Forsyth® dentech™ the top conference for oral health innovation — find out more. 

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