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Park DY, Park JY, Lee D, Hwang I, Kim HS. Leaky Gum: The Revisited Origin of Systemic Diseases. Cells 2022; 11:1079. [PMID: 35406643 PMCID: PMC8997512 DOI: 10.3390/cells11071079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The oral cavity is the gateway for microorganisms into your body where they disseminate not only to the directly connected respiratory and digestive tracts but also to the many remote organs. Oral microbiota, travelling to the end of the intestine and circulating in our bodies through blood vessels, not only affect a gut microbiome profile but also lead to many systemic diseases. By gathering information accumulated from the era of focal infection theory to the age of revolution in microbiome research, we propose a pivotal role of "leaky gum", as an analogy of "leaky gut", to underscore the importance of the oral cavity in systemic health. The oral cavity has unique structures, the gingival sulcus (GS) and the junctional epithelium (JE) below the GS, which are rarely found anywhere else in our body. The JE is attached to the tooth enamel and cementum by hemidesmosome (HD), which is structurally weaker than desmosome and is, thus, vulnerable to microbial infiltration. In the GS, microbial biofilms can build up for life, unlike the biofilms on the skin and intestinal mucosa that fall off by the natural process. Thus, we emphasize that the GS and the JE are the weakest leaky point for microbes to invade the human body, making the leaky gum just as important as, or even more important than, the leaky gut.
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Affiliation(s)
- Do-Young Park
- DOCSmedi Co., Ltd., 4F, 143, Gangseong-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea;
| | - Jin Young Park
- Department of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Apple Tree Healthcare Center, 1450, Jungang-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea;
| | - Dahye Lee
- Department of Orthodontics, Apple Tree Dental Hospital, 1450, Jungang-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea;
- Apple Tree Institute of Biomedical Science, Apple Tree Medical Foundation, 1450, Jungang-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea
| | - Inseong Hwang
- DOCSmedi Co., Ltd., 4F, 143, Gangseong-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea;
| | - Hye-Sung Kim
- Department of Orthodontics, Apple Tree Dental Hospital, 1450, Jungang-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea;
- Apple Tree Institute of Biomedical Science, Apple Tree Medical Foundation, 1450, Jungang-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10387, Korea
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