Key result
Undiagnosed hypertension was associated with a higher relative abundance of oral nitrate-reducing bacteria compared to normotension (21.88% vs 17.45%, P=0.031) in primary care dental patients.
Why the study?
Blood pressure and oral microbiome screening are gaining popularity in non-medical settings based on the hypothesis that altering nitrate-reducing bacterial species via oral hygiene could lower blood pressure and benefit cardiovascular health.
Does blood pressure and salivary oral microbiome screening in primary care dental clinics reliably identify undiagnosed hypertension and reveal specific changes in oral nitrate-reducing bacteria?
Cross-Sectional (n=200)
No
Does blood pressure and salivary oral microbiome screening in primary care dental clinics reliably identify undiagnosed hypertension and reveal specific changes in oral nitrate-reducing bacteria?
Primary care dental clinics can reliably screen for undiagnosed hypertension using strict protocols, but complex and conflicting species-level variations in oral nitrate-reducing bacteria indicate that using oral microbiome screening to guide personalized hygiene interventions for blood pressure management is currently premature.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
BP screening in dental clinics may detect undiagnosed hypertension; observed microbiome association is hypothesis-generating and requires confirmation.
Blood pressure and oral microbiome screening are gaining popularity in non-medical settings, the hypotheses communicated to hypertensive patients being that: altering the abundance of certain bacterial species via oral hygiene could be beneficial for cardiovascular health, especially nitrate reducing species that lower blood pressure. Two-hundred participants (58.410.8 y/o) therefore underwent Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure screening in a primary care clinic at some other time than dental treatment. 43.5% were normotensive (NT; SBP<120mmHg; DBP<80mmHg) and 31.5% were hypertensive (HT; SBP>140mmHg; DBP>90mmHg). After confounding factors were removed (NT-OM and NT-OM), the relative abundance of total oral nitrate-reducing bacteria (ONRB; determined using 16S rRNA, sequencing) and oral nitrate reducing activity (ONRA; determined using high-performance liquid chromatography; HPLC) increased in HT-OM (N=15) compared to NT-OM (N=24) (P=0.031). In agreement, some nitrate reducing bacterial species were higher, such as Neisseria flavescens however, Neisseria subflava were lower in HT-OM (P<0.05). Using strict protocols, primary care dental clinics can therefore reliably identify undiagnosed hypertension alongside changes to the oral microbiome. However, given that functional species-level differences may not align with expected systemic changes, further research is needed before dental clinics use oral microbiome screening to identify specific bacteria for guiding oral hygiene to manage hypertension.
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DOBLE et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Hypertension (n=200). Undiagnosed hypertension (SBP >140 mmHg; DBP >90 mmHg) vs. Normotensive blood pressure (SBP <120-130 mmHg; DBP <80 mmHg) was evaluated on Relative abundance of total oral nitrate-reducing bacteria (ONRB) in saliva (MD 4.43%, p=0.031). Undiagnosed hypertension was associated with a higher relative abundance of oral nitrate-reducing bacteria compared to normotension (21.88% vs 17.45%, P=0.031) in primary care dental patients.
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