Award Date
May 2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Dental Medicine
First Committee Member
Karl Kingsley
Second Committee Member
Katherine Howard
Third Committee Member
Brian Chrzan
Fourth Committee Member
Maxim Gakh
Number of Pages
58
Abstract
Akkermansia muciniphila (AM) is one of many highly abundant intestinal microbes that influences homeostasis and metabolic disorders and may also play a role in oral disorders. However, there is little evidence regarding the oral prevalence of this organism. Based upon this lack of evidence, the primary goal of this project is to survey an existing saliva repository to determine the overall prevalence of this organism and any associations with demographic or patient characteristics (age, sex, body mass index, race/ethnicity, orthodontic therapy). Using an approved protocol, a total n = 141 pediatric samples from an existing saliva repository were screened using qPCR revealing 29.8% harbored AM with nearly equal distribution among males and females, p = 0.8347. Significantly higher percentages of pediatric, non-orthodontic patients were positive for AM (42.3%) compared with age-matched orthodontic patients (14.3%)-which were equally distributed among non-orthodontic males (42.1%) and non-orthodontic females (42.5%). In addition, analysis of the adult samples revealed that nearly equal percentages of males (18.2%) and females (16.7%) harbored detectable levels of salivary AM, p = 0.2035. However, a higher proportion of non-orthodontic adult samples harbored AM (21.3%) compared to orthodontic samples (12.8%, p = 0.0001), which was equally distributed among males and females. These results suggest that both age and the presence of orthodontic brackets may influence microbial composition and, more specifically, are associated with reduction in AM among both pediatric and adult populations from their baseline levels.
Keywords
Akkermansia muciniphila; oral prevalence; orthodontic; saliva screening
Disciplines
Dentistry | Microbiology
File Format
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Shen, Ching, "Oral Prevalence of Akkermancia Muciniphila Among Pediatric and Adult Orthodontic and Non-Orthodontic Patients" (2023). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 4776.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/36114801
Rights
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