Electronic Cigarette Use Promotes a Unique Periodontal Microbiome
Scott C. Thomas, Fangxi Xu, Smruti Pushalkar, Ziyan Lin, Nirali Thakor, Mridula Vardhan, Zia Flaminio, Alireza Khodadadi‐Jamayran, Rebeca Vasconcelos, Adenike Akapo, Erica Queiroz, Maria Bederoff, Malvin N. Janal, Yuqi Guo, Deanna Aguallo, Terry Gordon, Patricia Corby, Angela R. Kamer, Xin Li, Deepak Saxena
Abstract
Electronic cigarette (e-cig) use is gaining in popularity and is often perceived as a healthier alternative to conventional smoking. Yet there is little evidence of the effects of long-term use of e-cigs on oral health. Conventional cigarette smoking is a prominent risk factor for the development of periodontitis, an oral disease affecting nearly half of adults over 30 years of age in the United States. Periodontitis is initiated through a disturbance in the microbial biofilm communities inhabiting the unique space between teeth and gingival tissues. This disturbance instigates host inflammatory and immune responses and, if left untreated, leads to tooth and bone loss and systemic diseases. We found that the e-cig user's periodontal microbiome is unique, eliciting unique host responses. Yet some similarities to the microbiomes of both conventional smokers and nonsmokers exist, with strikingly more in common with that of cigarette smokers, suggesting that there is a unique periodontal risk associated with e-cig use.