Rationalizing The Oral-Systemic Connection: A Key Approach Toward Healthy Longevity

The human oral microbiome represents one of the most complex microbial ecosystems in the body. It plays a pivotal role in systemic health, serving as both a protective barrier and a potential source of chronic inflammation and infection. Beyond its local roles in maintaining oral homeostasis, growing evidence indicates that oral microbial dysbiosis and periodontal disease are intraicately linked to a wide range of systemic disorders, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurodegeneration, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and cancer. These associations underscore the mouth as a critical gateway to systemic health, were microbial and inflammatory process can extend far beyond the oral cavity.

Despite the increasing recognition of these interconnection, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning the oral-systemic axis remain incompletely understood. Key questions persist regarding how specific oral microbial communities and their metabolites influence systemic immune responses, endothelial function, or metabolic regulation. Advances in high-resolution technologies—such as Raman spectroscopy, metagenomics, metabolomics, and proteomics—now offer unprecedented opportunities to unravel these mechanisms, identify novel biomarkers, and establish casual links between oral dysbiosis and systemic disease progression.

This Research Topic aims to rationalize the oral-systemic connection by integrating cuttin-edge insights from microbial pathogenesis, host-microbe interactions, immune signaling, and multi-omics analyses. We invite original research articles, reviews, and perspective that explore:

- Mechanistic pathways linking oral dysbiosis to systemic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, or tissue degeneration.

- The role of oral microbial metabolites and virulence factors in modulating host immune and inflammatory responses.

- Multi-omics approaches for identifying diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic biomarkers of oral-systemic interactions.

- Translational and clinical studies targeting the oral microbiome to promote systemic health and healthy aging.

- Preventive and therapeutic interventions aimed at restoring oral microbial homeostasis as a strategy to enhance longevity.

By fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue among microbiologists, clinicians, and bioengineers, this Research Topic seeks to promote a system-level understanding of oral health as a determinant of healthy longevity. We particularly welcome reviews, original research, and perspectives addressing preventive, therapeutic, and translational approaches that target the oral microbiome to improve systemic outcomes.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Oral microbiome, Host-microbe interactions, dysbiosis, oral-systemic axis, microbial pathogenesis

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.