Maria João Azevedo

Background Oral mucositis (OM) is a severe and common adverse effect of cancer treatment. The oral microbiome appears to play a role on the onset and severity of OM. Therefore, this systematic review aims to characterize the oral dysbiosis associated with OM. Methods The PRISMA checklist was followed and PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were screened for clinical studies characterizing the oral microbiome alterations in patients with OM. Results From a total of 2500 articles retrieved, we included nine articles in this systematic review. Certain types of bacteria, as Fusobacterium , were recognized as predictors of the onset of OM. In addition, it was reported that patients with severe OM presented a reduction in alpha‐diversity, an increase in beta‐diversity. The abundance of some taxa significantly changed with OM severity, with Bacillota phylum and genera Leptotrichia , Actinomyces , and Prevotella decreasing and Treponema increasing with disease progression. Additionally, during cancer treatment, changes in the oral microbiome have been observed in OM patients, with an increase in Candida and nosocomial pathogens, including Staphylococcus species. Conclusion Our review indicates that cancer treatment can significantly alter the oral microbiome, with more pronounced changes observed in patients with severe OM in all relevant oral phyla, but more pronounced in Bacillota phylum.

Background Hormonal and behavioral changes during pregnancy may impact the oral health of women, which can influence the pregnancy course. Prenatal care practitioners (PCP) must be aware of this bidirectional relation in order to include an oral assessment in routine prenatal care. Objectives To characterize the knowledge and attitudes of PCP regarding oral health in pregnant women. Search Strategy The search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, Lilacs, Scopus, and Embase on May 2022. Selection Criteria Peer‐reviewed cross‐sectional studies published in English within the last 5 years that assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PCP towards oral health in pregnancy were selected. Data Collection and Analysis Data were standardly extracted by the three reviewers from the selected articles and their bias was assessed. Main Results From a total of 996 articles, 24 were selected. Overall, most PCP have an adequate level of knowledge regarding the importance of oral health during pregnancy. Although several professionals reported referring their patients to a dentist, the attitudes and practices of the majority of PCP were still inadequate. Conclusions PCP are aware of the importance of oral health during pregnancy but still lack translating this knowledge into clinical practice.