Microbiome of the head-and-neck region

The microbiome includes microbes that are both helpful and potentially harmful to the human body. The majority of the microbiome are symbiotic and few are pathogenic. The collaboration of microbial colonizers is thought to help in and regulate bodily function. The rapid development of sequencing techniques and analytical methods is increasing the ability to understand the human microbiome. The importance of the human microbiome in the detection and prevention of the disease has been well established in different anatomical parts; however, there is limited literature or research on the microbiome of the head-and-neck region. Proper understanding of the microbiome in the head-and-neck area can help to differentiate the disease-prone patients from normal persons and is helping to guide the treatment regimens and usage of antibiotics. This can help to control resistance and limit the adverse effects of antibiotic overuse. Understanding by clinicians about dysbiosis can help to treat and even protect from common clinical entities such as tonsillitis and rhinosinusitis. Novel genetic sequencing (16S/next-gen sequencing) is helpful for the accurate identification of bacterial taxa in samples collected from the head-and-neck region and a better understanding of the composition of the otolaryngologic microbiome. In this review article, we discuss details of the head-and-neck microbiome distinguished by all relevant subsites.