A visit to the dentist could one day require a detailed look at how genes in a patient’s body are being switched on or off, as well as examining their pearly whites, according to researchers. “In the case of oral health, epigenetic factors may help to orchestrate healthy and unhealthy states in our mouths. They respond to the current local environment, such as the type and level of our oral microbes, regulating which of our genes are active. This means we could use them to determine an individual’s state of health, or even influence how their genes behave. We can’t change the underlying genetic code, but we may be able to change when genes are switched on and off,” a co-author says.
