Made in GermanyShotgun metagenomicsSpecies levelAmong Europe's leading labs

Oral microbiome
test at home:
saliva DNA analysis
with shotgun
sequencing

With Microbiome 360° Oral Analysis, our complete microbiome oral analysis for home collection, we read the DNA of your entire oral community instead of a fixed panel of marker germs. One saliva sample identifies bacteria, fungi and DNA viruses down to species level, together with the functional genes your mouth carries.

In oral microbiome analysis we are among the leading laboratories in Europe: the whole mouth from one saliva sample, at species level, instead of a panel of five to eleven marker germs. Very few providers currently offer that.

Explore the analysis →How it differs from a germ test

Made in Germany

Free delivery within Germany

Result in 4 to 6 weeks

GDPR compliant and pseudonymised

Complete oral analysis

Microbiome 360° Oral

€329,00incl. VAT · In stock, ships immediately

Oral Health Score and three ecology measures
Core 5 organisms and five functional potentials
Periodontal, cariogenic and breath pressure patterns
Oral resistome and lifelong access to your DNA databank

Sequencing and analysis in Germany

The difference

What the oral testing market offers, and where we differ

In Germany the established category is the dental germ test: a PCR panel for five to eleven predefined marker germs, usually taken from a periodontal pocket, priced roughly between 45 and 200 euro. Internationally there are saliva based microbiome tests around 169 to 199 dollars. What none of them does is read the whole community. A fixed panel answers a narrow question for a single treatment decision, and it cannot show you the ecology of your mouth.

Species levelBacteria, fungi and DNA viruses

A germ panel returns yes or no on eleven organisms. Shotgun metagenomics identifies what is actually present, fungi and DNA viruses included, in the same sequencing run.

Whole mouthSaliva instead of one pocket

A pocket sample describes one site on one tooth. Saliva is a mixed sample of the entire mouth, which is what makes an ecological read of the system possible at all.

Functional genesWhat your community can do

Nitrate reduction, arginine and urea based alkali generation, acid tolerance and sulfur pathways are read from the DNA itself rather than guessed from a species list.

Oral resistomeResistance genes included

Antimicrobial resistance genes found in your saliva, with the drug classes they relate to. No PCR germ panel reports this.

Sequencing depth per sample

Microbiome 360° Oral Analysis25 MillionPaired end reads per sample. Shotgun metagenomics reads the DNA of every organism in the sample, not a fixed list of germs.

roughly 2500 times more than

Typical 16S test10,000Reads per sample, limited to a single marker gene, usually resolving only to genus level.

What is compared here is sequencing depth per sample, meaning the number of reads evaluated: around 25 million paired end reads in our shotgun metagenomics against the order of magnitude usual for 16S amplicon methods, roughly 10,000 reads per sample. The comparison refers to the analytical method and not to individual providers. More sequencing depth means more DNA read, not automatically a medical advantage.

The ecology

In the mouth, more diversity is not automatically better

The mouth holds the second most complex microbial community in the body, and it is the one you disturb most often: every meal, every coffee, every brushing. Saliva carries a mixed sample of the whole mouth, which makes it a good way to read the balance of that community as a system rather than one site at a time.

Diversity here is contextual. Oral disease can add anaerobic organisms and raise diversity, so a higher number is not automatically the better number. What matters is the direction of the ecosystem: whether health associated commensals still hold their ground against pressure associated organisms.

That is why we report richness and evenness alongside the distance of your whole community from the healthy reference composition, and a saliva calibrated dysbiosis balance.

Oral ecology, illustrated

The method

Why we sequence everything instead of counting marker germs

The germ tests offered in dental practices use PCR to look for a fixed panel of five to eleven predefined organisms. That answers a narrow question for a specific treatment decision. It is not a picture of your mouth.

	Dental germ test	16S sequencing	Shotgun metagenomics (Bactera)
What it reads	5 to 11 predefined marker germs	One marker gene	✓All DNA in the sample
Sample	Usually a pocket sample in the practice	Varies	✓Saliva, a whole mouth sample at home
Resolution	Only the targets chosen	Usually genus level	✓Species level
Fungi and DNA viruses	No	No	✓Yes, in the same run
Functional genes	No	No	✓Nitrate, arginine and sulfur pathways
Resistance genes	No	No	✓Full oral resistome
Your raw data	Not applicable	Limited	✓FASTQ and abundances, for life

Sample journey, saliva to sequencer

What that difference buys you

Instead of a yes or no on eleven organisms, you get your whole mouth community at species level, the functional genes it carries and the resistance genes present. That is the difference between a treatment decision aid and an ecological picture for prevention and follow up.

Reading all the DNA is also what makes the functional panels possible: nitrate reduction linked to nitric oxide biology, arginine and urea based alkali generation, acid tolerance, protein degrading capacity and the pathways behind odorous sulfur gases.

Your analysis

Seventeen analyses, in five layers

Each layer answers a different question. Measured composition, inferred functional potential, association based pressure patterns and detection only screening are kept apart and labelled as such, so nothing reads as more than it is.

Layer 1

Ecology and overall balance

Where your mouth sits as a whole, before any single organism.

Oral Health Score

A 0 to 100 composite describing how closely your salivary ecosystem resembles the healthy reference pattern. It integrates symbiosis and dysbiosis balance, periodontal pressure, cariogenic pressure, beneficial functional capacity and whole community concordance.

A summary for orientation. It does not diagnose oral disease.

Diversity

Reports richness and evenness of the salivary community, treated as contextual rather than automatically favourable.

Oral disease can add anaerobic organisms and increase diversity, so this is read together with the rest of the ecological profile.

Distance from Healthy Reference

Measures how far your complete salivary community lies from the average healthy reference composition.

A whole community comparison. It does not identify a specific disease or an affected tooth.

Dysbiosis Balance

Compares health associated commensals with pressure associated organisms using a saliva calibrated ratio.

Summarises ecological direction. It does not diagnose gingivitis, periodontitis, caries or halitosis.

Layer 2

The organisms

Named individually, grouped by the role the evidence gives them.

Core 5 Oral Microorganisms

Three health anchors, Rothia spp., commensal Neisseria spp. and the Streptococcus sanguinis group, together with two gum associated pressure markers, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis.

A compact view of protective nitrate and alkali ecology, commensal balance and periodontal pressure.

Evidence Selected Key Microorganism Profile

Selected organisms in eight groups: health commensals and nitrate reducers, commensal streptococci, established periodontal, emerging periodontal, cariogenic and acidogenic, halitosis and sulfur, bridging and opportunistic, and fungi and yeasts.

Each result is presented as favourable, contextual, pressure associated or detection only according to its biology and evidence.

Layer 3

Functional potential, gene based

What the community is equipped to do, read from its genes.

Nitrate Reducing Potential

Estimates genetic and organism level capacity to convert dietary nitrate to nitrite, a pathway linked to nitric oxide biology and oral pH ecology.

Does not measure nitrate intake, nitrite, nitric oxide, blood pressure or pathway activity.

Acid and Alkali pH Resilience

Compares acid producing potential with arginine and urea based alkali generating capacity.

Describes genomic potential. It cannot substitute for a direct salivary pH, buffering or flow measurement.

Cariogenic Functional Pressure

Estimates acid production and acid tolerance associated with a cavity promoting environment.

Not a cavity prediction. Saliva flow and buffering, free sugar frequency, fluoride exposure, tooth anatomy and existing lesions are not measured.

Proteolytic and Periodontal Potential

Estimates protein degrading, heme and iron scavenging and amino acid fermentation capacity associated with gum inflammation ecology.

Does not measure inflammation, pocket depth, attachment loss or bone loss.

Volatile Sulfur Compound Potential

Estimates the genetic and organism level potential to produce odorous sulfur gases.

Does not measure breath gases, tongue coating, saliva flow, dry mouth, diet or non oral causes of halitosis.

Layer 4

Microbial pressure patterns

Organisms and function combined, described as patterns and never as predictions.

Periodontal Pressure

Summarises the salivary pattern of established and emerging periodontal organisms together with reduced health associated commensals.

Saliva is a whole mouth average. It cannot localise disease or reliably separate gingivitis from established periodontitis without a dental examination.

Cariogenic Pressure

Combines cariogenic organisms, acidogenic potential and protective streptococci into a microbiome associated cavity pressure pattern.

Always secondary to direct dental, dietary, fluoride and salivary factors.

Breath and Volatile Sulfur Pressure

Combines sulfur associated organisms and functional potential to describe a pattern that may contribute to oral malodour.

It does not diagnose halitosis or identify its cause.

Layer 5

Screening, resistome and your data

The incidental findings, and everything you keep afterwards.

Clinically Relevant Organisms

Reports selected organisms of dental or clinical interest individually, including key periodontal, cariogenic, opportunistic and fungal findings.

Detection provides context only. It does not establish disease or infection.

Selected Oral DNA Viruses

The planned panel includes Epstein Barr virus, HSV-1, cytomegalovirus, HHV-6A and B, HPV, adenoviruses, anelloviruses and Merkel cell polyomavirus.

Exploratory, low sensitivity detection. Positives need targeted confirmation and negatives do not exclude infection or shedding.

Oral Resistome

Reports antimicrobial resistance genes detected in the salivary community and the drug classes they relate to.

It cannot reliably assign every gene to an organism, prove expression, or predict the response to dental or medical antibiotic treatment.

Your DNA databank, for life

Download your complete list of identified species, bacteria, fungi and viruses, your sequencing data (FASTQ) and your raw abundance data. As we add new insights, your sample can be reanalysed without sending a new one.

Stored securely under GDPR. Never sold.

Inside your report

What you actually get to read

Every number arrives with the sentence that says what it does not mean. This is an illustrative example, not a real result.

Microbiome 360° Oral Analysis · report previewExample

Oral Health Score

71of 100

050100

A composite of symbiosis and dysbiosis balance, periodontal pressure, cariogenic pressure, beneficial functional capacity and whole community concordance. It is a summary for orientation, not a diagnosis of oral disease.

Dysbiosis balance: symbiosis leaning

Health associated commensals hold the majority

Your saliva calibrated ratio of health associated commensals to pressure associated organisms sits on the favourable side of the reference. This describes the direction of your ecosystem. It does not diagnose gingivitis, periodontitis, caries or halitosis.

Diversity: moderate · Distance from healthy reference: small · Sample: whole mouth saliva

Core 5 oral microorganisms

Bar length equals the share of the community, on a 0 to 100 percent scale

Rothia spp. 12.4%

Neisseria spp. 9.8%

S. sanguinis group 7.6%

F. nucleatum 3.1%

P. gingivalis 0.4%

Health anchorsGum associated pressure markers

Periodontal pressureEstablished periodontal organisms low, commensals well represented.● Low

Cariogenic pressureAcidogenic organisms present alongside strong protective streptococci.● Worth discussing

Breath and volatile sulfurSulfur associated organisms within the reference range.● Low

Nitrate reducing potentialStrong capacity carried by Rothia and commensal Neisseria.● Favourable

Oral resistomeResistance genes detected for two drug classes. Gene presence is not treatment failure.● Detected

Functional potential panel

Evidence selected organism table

Every report closes with plain language explanations and supportive, non medical suggestions you can also bring to your dental practice. Results are informational and do not replace a dental examination. Please discuss your report with your dentist.

Open demo reportRead a complete report before you orderOur full demo report is open to everyone, no account and no purchase. Click through every section, see how each result is explained, how the reference comparisons are drawn and how the limits are stated. Then decide whether this is the depth you want.View the demo report →Opens my.bactera.de in a new tab

Report screens

Using the kit

Your oral analysis in four steps

1

Kit arriving

Your kit arrives

Everything you need in one box, including prepaid return postage. Register your kit online with the code inside.

2

Giving the sample

Give a saliva sample

Into the collection tube included in the kit, following the illustrated instructions. It takes a few minutes and no appointment.

3

Return envelope

Post it back

DNA extraction and shotgun sequencing happen in our partner laboratory in Germany. We analyse the data in our own bioinformatic pipelines.

4

Report on screen

Read your report

Released in your Bactera account, written so you can read it and so your dental practice can read it with you.

Kit contents, flat lay

Before you sample

Do not eat, drink, brush, floss or use mouthwash for at least one hour beforehand.
Sample before your morning routine if you can.
Skip alcohol containing mouthwash the evening before.
If you have taken antibiotics, wait at least two weeks.
Register your kit before you post it, so your sample can be matched to your account.

The kit includes a step by step illustrated guide. If anything is unclear, our team answers by email before you take the sample.

The test kit

Microbiome 360° Oral Analysis

Product photography

Microbiome oral analysis at home, shotgun metagenomics

349 €One time. Free shipping and prepaid return within Germany.

Saliva collection kit with illustrated instructions and prepaid return postage
Oral Health Score and three ecology measures
Core 5 oral microorganisms and five functional potentials
Periodontal, cariogenic and breath pressure patterns
Evidence selected organism profile in eight groups
Clinically relevant organisms, selected oral DNA viruses and the oral resistome
Complete organism list, FASTQ files and raw abundance data
Lifelong access to your digital DNA databank

Add to cart

Analysed in GermanyGDPR compliantData never soldSupport by email

Market position

Among the leading oral microbiome analyses in Europe

The European market for oral testing is dominated by the dental germ test: a PCR panel for five to eleven predefined marker germs from a single periodontal pocket. We sequence all the DNA in a saliva sample instead, the way international oral microbiome research works. What that means in practice is set out below in numbers rather than superlatives.

25 millionReads per saliva sample

Sequencing depth at research level, roughly 2,500 times the 10,000 reads of a typical 16S test.

3Groups of organisms per sample

Bacteria, fungi and DNA viruses in the same run. A dental germ panel only answers yes or no to a fixed list.

17Analyses across five layers

From the Oral Health Score and core community through functional genes to the oral resistome. Very few providers cover that range in one report.

01

The whole mouth, not one pocket

A pocket sample describes one site on one tooth. Saliva is a pooled sample of the entire mouth, which is what makes an ecological reading possible at all.

02

Species level, not a marker panel

A PCR germ test checks a predefined list. We identify what is actually present, including the organisms nobody was looking for.

03

Technologically in the leading group

Shotgun metagenomics at species level is the standard international microbiome research works to. In consumer facing analysis it remains one of very few methods in use worldwide.

04

Functional genes and the oral resistome

Nitrate reduction, alkali production, acid tolerance and sulphur metabolism are read from the DNA, along with the resistance genes your mouth carries. No PCR germ panel reports that.

05

Sequenced and analysed in Germany

Do not eat, drink, brush, floss or use mouthwash for at least one hour before sampling, and sample before your morning routine if you can. If you have taken antibiotics, wait at least two weeks.

How is this different from the germ test at my dentist?

A dental germ test uses PCR to look for five to eleven predefined marker germs, usually from a pocket sample, to support one treatment decision. This test sequences all the DNA in your saliva, so you see the whole community at species level, its functional genes and its resistance genes.

Does it replace a visit to the dentist?

No. Saliva gives a whole mouth average and cannot show a specific tooth or pocket. The report is for information and orientation alongside dental care.

Can I share the report with my dentist?

Yes. The report is written to be readable by both you and a dental professional, and you can download your complete organism list and raw data.

Will my health insurance cover it?

No. This is a self pay analysis, not a reimbursable dental diagnostic service.

What is the Core 5 and why those organisms?

Three health anchors, Rothia spp., commensal Neisseria spp. and the Streptococcus sanguinis group, plus two gum associated pressure markers, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Together they give a compact read on protective nitrate and alkali ecology, commensal balance and periodontal pressure.

How long do results take?

Your report is released in your Bactera account once sequencing and analysis are complete, and you are notified by email.

Can I test again later to see what changed?

Yes. Because your sequencing data is stored, later samples can be read against your own earlier result rather than only against a reference population. A single sample describes the present, not a trajectory.

What happens to my data?

Your sample is analysed in Germany and your sequencing data is stored securely under GDPR. You can download your FASTQ files and raw abundance data at any time. Your data is never sold.

Why is it more expensive than a dental germ test?

Because it is a different method and a different question. A germ panel prices eleven PCR targets. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing reads the whole community DNA, which is what makes species level resolution, functional gene panels and the resistome possible, and it gives you lifelong access to your own sequencing data.

Three packages, from an essential overview to full profiling with a lifelong DNA bank.

Explore →