Oral Bacteria and Colorectal Pathology

Abstract

Context- The oral cavity and the colon, though part of the alimentary tract are distantly located anatomically and hence are colonized by totally divergent microbes. The mouth is affected by several pathologies and so is the colon. So it is quite natural to investigate the probable connection between poor oral health and colorectal pathologies. Evidence acquisition- This article is a small attempt to identify the oral microbiota, how they translocate to the colon-rectum area and then how do they create pathology there. Pubmed indexed journals relating to this topic were screened and shortlisted to construct this article. Results- The organisms generally responsible for the oral diseases, namely Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis among others have been found in colon disorders resulting in intestinal dysbiosis and ultimately leading to colorectal cancer. Conclusions- If the disease pathogenesis is well understood, then it will open new ways on how to prevent or treat colorectal pathologies. However further studies are needed in this arena.

Keywords

• colorectal cancer
• dysbiosis
• microbiota
• periodontitis