In addition to being able to identify a person’s ethnicity from their finger prints, recent research has suggested that bacteria found in the mouth and in particular the gums can also lead to the identification of a person’s ethnicity. After a study of over 100 people from 4 different ethnic affiliations found that no two people were exactly alike, there appeared to be a shared DNA sequencing within ethnic communities.

It is believed that the microbial sequencing aligned to each of the ethnicity’s DNA could be used to explain why certain ethnic groups are more susceptible to certain oral health problems. In addition to this it appears that due to the differences that exist between the different ethnic groups there does not appear to be one specific dental treatment that will be suitable to all. Therefore in order for dentistry to develop from this more research should be attained into developing ways to assess an individual’s susceptibility to disease based on their ethnic origin.

 Image Courtesy of  Dan Century  CC

31st March, 2014
Dental