A team of scientists from The Forsyth Institute, a global leader in oral health research, in collaboration with the NIH-funded Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS), has published the results of a new study indicating that differences in the mouth bacteria of youth born with HIV may increase their risk of cavities. The researchers found that HIV-infected youth, compared with uninfected youth, had lower numbers of Corynebacterium, a microbe that is abundant in dental plaque of healthy individuals.
“At the Forsyth Institute, we encourage our scientists to explore the unknown and equip them with the resources and partnerships to do so,” said Dr. Wenyuan Shi, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at the Forsyth Institute. “This group of researchers did exactly that. When there was limited information on the potential role of oral bacteria in HIV-infected youth, they spearheaded a study to fill in these research gaps and understand more globally how systemic diseases, or their treatment, may affect the microbes that help keep us healthy or cause disease.”
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