Microbiome Shifts in Peri-Implantitis: Longitudinal Characterization of Dysbiosis and ResolutionOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers tracked the peri-implant microbiome in patients with peri-implantitis compared to healthy dental implants over time. The goal was to map how bacterial communities shift with disease and with treatment.
How was it studied?
Seven subjects each contributed a paired diseased implant site and a healthy implant site, for 42 total samples. Subgingival biofilm was sampled at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months post-treatment and profiled by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, with treatment involving non-surgical debridement followed by access-flap or regenerative surgery.
What did they find?
At baseline, diseased sites were enriched in Prevotella (8.44%) and Fusobacterium (16.91%), plus Veillonella, Treponema denticola, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, while healthy sites were dominated by Streptococcus (16.91%) and Neisseria (10.06%). By 3 months, Haemophilus rose sharply in diseased sites (19.94%), and by 6 months Streptococcus increased in diseased sites (13.10%) while Veillonella and Neisseria stayed prevalent in healthy sites, indicating partial microbial recovery.
Why it matters
The findings trace a longitudinal path from dysbiosis toward a more health-associated profile after peri-implantitis treatment. This supports the idea that microbiome-targeted therapies could help resolve or prevent peri-implant disease.