The Exciting Interface of Oral Microbiomics and New Technology
by Lakshman P. Samaranayake
DSc, DDS, FRCPath, FDS RCS, FRACDS, FCDSHK
Professor Emeritus (Microbiomics)
Immediate Past Dean of Dentistry
Abstract
The human oral microbiome is exceedingly complex comprising diverse array of microbial communities known to play a pivotal role in both oral and systemic health. The exploding pace of new technological developments and their applications in the study of oralome is now shedding new light on the hitherto unknown facets of its constituent microbiota. There are many exciting technologies that are currently used in assessing the oral microbiome and including high-throughput sequencing, single-cell genomics, advanced imaging modalities including fluorescence, mass spectrometry, Ramanomics and culturomics. This presentation will discuss the pros and cons of such technologies in deciphering the oral microbiota.