Abstract: Objective To explore the compositions of oral flora from edentulous individuals. Methods Bacteria plaque samples were collected from mouth floor/tongue abdomen, tongue back, labial/buccal vestibule, hard palate/alveolar ridge crest and saliva of 11 edentulous individuals. The microbial 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were then constructed. Using pryosequencing, sequencing analysis of the V2-V3 variable zone of 16S rDNA was performed to execute species identification of oral flora from 11 edentulous individuals. Results A total of 51,091 sequences, which were classified into Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria phyla, were identified by pyrosequening in the 11 edentulous subjects. Predominant genera included Streptococcus, Neisseria, Porphyromonas, Rothia, etc. Streptococcus mitis, Granulicatella adiacens, Veillonella dispar, Pseudomonas citronellolis, Haemophilus pittmaniae, Neisseria zoodegmatis, Porphyromonas sp and Rothia mucilaginosa were dominant species. Conclusion Complete absence of dentitions had an impact on the oral flora compositions of edentulous individuals.

Key words: Edentulous jaw, Oral bacteria flora, Pyrosequencing