Reference
The sixteen organisms on the Oral Balance Test
The Oral Balance Test detects and quantifies sixteen targets in a saliva sample by qPCR: six organisms associated with periodontal disease, two associated with caries, one fungal, three commensal streptococci, and four narG gene detections that measure nitrate-reduction capacity. Each is reported at its own Detection Level rather than as present or absent. The panel measures the oral microbiome and is intended for adjunctive clinical use alongside a dentist's examination.
The sixteen targets
As reported on the Oral Balance provider report. Each target carries its own Detection Level.
| Group | Count | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Core periodontal pathogens | 3 | P. gingivalis · T. denticola · T. forsythia |
| Amplifiers | 2 | A. actinomycetemcomitans · F. alocis |
| Bridge | 1 | F. nucleatum subsp. animalis |
| Caries bacteria | 2 | S. mutans · S. sobrinus |
| Fungal | 1 | Candida spp. |
| Commensal bacteria | 3 | S. salivarius · S. sanguinis · S. mitis |
| Nitric-oxide producing | 4 | Rothia narG · Neisseria narG · Veillonella narG · Actinomyces narG |
Why the groups are not interchangeable
The panel is not a list of sixteen equivalent bacteria with sixteen equivalent meanings. The groups answer different questions, and a Detection Level is read against the group it belongs to.
The six periodontal targets are the organisms most consistently associated with periodontal disease in the published literature. The caries targets are associated with a different disease process. The commensal streptococci and the narG group are the side of the ecology that a healthy mouth has more of, not less.
That is why the report separates disruptive pressure from protective capacity rather than producing a single count. Two patients with identical periodontal Detection Levels can have different protective findings, and the report shows both.
Core, amplifier, bridge
Within the periodontal six, the report distinguishes three roles.
Core pathogens — P. gingivalis, T. denticola and T. forsythia — are the organisms most strongly associated with periodontal disease, and are frequently reported together in the literature.
Amplifiers — A. actinomycetemcomitans and F. alocis — are associated with more aggressive presentations. A. actinomycetemcomitans is reported against tightened Detection Level bands because it is associated with disease at much lower abundance than the others.
Bridge — F. nucleatum subsp. animalis — is so labelled because F. nucleatum is described in the literature as a bridging organism in plaque community structure. The Oral Balance Test targets the animalis subspecies specifically rather than F. nucleatum broadly.
The four narG detections are not species counts
This group is easy to misread. The report lists Rothia, Neisseria, Veillonella and Actinomyces, but what is detected in each case is the narG gene — the nitrate reductase gene — associated with that genus, not the organism as such.
The distinction is the point. Detecting a genus tells you an organism associated with nitrate reduction is present. Detecting narG establishes that the gene which performs the conversion is present, and at what level. That is a measurement of functional capacity rather than an inference from taxonomy.
Why *Candida* is on a bacterial panel
Candida is a yeast, not a bacterium. It is included because it is part of the oral microbial community the panel is describing, and because fungal overgrowth is a finding a clinician may want visibility on when reading a bacterial profile.
It is reported on its own Detection Level bands, separate from the bacterial categories.
What a result does not replace
The Oral Balance Test is a laboratory developed test performed by IMMYLabs under CLIA. It has not been cleared or approved by the FDA. Results are intended to support a clinician's assessment alongside an examination and a patient's history, never to replace one.