%0 Journal Article
%T Microbial Communities on the Inner Surfaces of Face Masks and in Saliva During the COVID-19 Pandemic
%A Robert S. Klein
%A Lucia F. Romano
%A Tesfaye M. Bekele
%J Journal of Current Research in Oral Surgery
%@ 3062-3480
%D 2023
%V 3
%N 1
%R 10.51847/wnv4rCMRSj
%P 91-104
%X During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of face masks was widely recommended. This study sought to characterize the oral microbiome present on the inner surface of masks, evaluate the abundance of specific bacterial species, and assess whether xerostomia influenced microbial composition. The study involved 55 generally healthy adults (45 females and 10 males; mean age 38.18 ± 12.49 years). For each participant, unstimulated (UFR) and stimulated (SFR) saliva flow rates were measured, and saliva samples were collected. Fourteen major oral bacterial species—including Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), Lactobacillus casei (L. casei), Tannerella forsythia (T. forsythia), and Treponema denticola (T. denticola)—were quantified on both the inner surface of masks and in saliva using real-time PCR. The findings indicated that total bacterial DNA was significantly greater in both UFR and SFR than on the mask surface (p 
%U https://tsdp.net/article/microbial-communities-on-the-inner-surfaces-of-face-masks-and-in-saliva-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-meabipnyzbpjcrf