Beyond microbial community composition: functional activities of the oral microbiome in health and disease.

The oral microbiome plays a relevant role in the health status of the host and is a key element in a variety of oral and non-oral diseases. Despite advances in our knowledge of changes in microbial composition associated with different health conditions the functional aspects of the oral microbiome that lead to dysbiosis remain for the most part unknown. In this review, we discuss the progress made towards understanding the functional role of the oral microbiome in health and disease and how novel technologies are expanding our knowledge on this subject.