Population-scale dietary signatures of the oral microbiome

A whole-food plant-based diet score in 5,824 Human Phenotype Project participants is linked to higher Streptococcus sanguinis but lower S. gordonii and S. oralis.

• Why it matters: Diet shapes oral microbial communities, but which specific foods, nutrients, and dietary patterns relate to diversity, taxa, and function is still incompletely mapped.
• What they did: The study integrated detailed dietary records with buccal metagenomic profiles, using covariate-adjusted analyses and prediction models, then replicated genus-level findings in NHANES (4,667 participants).
• The result: Plant-based and guideline-based patterns show broadly similar associations across oral species, with genus members sometimes moving in opposite directions, and replicated genus-level signatures that link diet to diversity, composition, and functional potential.

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