Oral microbiome in practice: Actionable insights with Dr. Thompson

Welcome to a conversation with Dr. Doug Thompson, a pioneering dentist, educator, and founder of the Wellness Dentistry Network. Over the course of his practice, he discovered that many common oral diseases were not being truly stabilised by conventional treatments. His journey led him to the oral microbiome, revealing that its imbalance is often the root cause of issues like cavities and gum disease.

In this conversation, Dr. Thompson emphasises why the oral microbiome deserves a much more prominent place in modern dentistry and provides practical steps for integrating it into daily practice. 

Key takeaways

Oral microbiome imbalance affects 65% of the population
Many common oral diseases, like cavities and gum disease, are not effectively stabilised by traditional treatments because the underlying oral microbiome imbalance is not addressed.

The mouth is fully integrated with the rest of the body
An unhealthy oral microbiome has been linked to a wide range of systemic diseases (currently 57 identified connections), including diabetes and cancer.

Oral microbiome is essential for patient care 
Evaluating the oral microbiome should be a routine part of every patient's dental assessment, as it is the primary cause of, or a contributing factor in, nearly all oral health problems.

“What we have seen over hundreds of patients, thousands of patients, actually, is if you reduce the pathogen burden, if you reduce the load of those bacteria and get that under control, the patient gets better.”

Reliable saliva testing is on the rise
Quantitative PCR saliva tests are easy to use, predictable, reliable, and inexpensive methods to identify problematic bacteria and their quantities, providing crucial diagnostic information without the need to culture samples.

Oral microbiome imbalance can be treated
Treatment involves both mechanical debridement (removing bacteria from teeth and gums) and antimicrobial therapy (using targeted rinses to address bacteria on other oral surfaces like the tongue and cheeks). Both methods are essential for success.