Tiny Health and Bristle Health are recruiting participants for a pioneering research study examining the connection between oral and gut health. The study offers participants comprehensive microbiome testing at exclusive research pricing while contributing to scientific understanding of how oral bacteria influence digestive health.

Research shows people with gum disease are two to three times more likely to have IBD than those without gum disease, yet oral health is rarely assessed alongside gut health. Every day, oral microbes enter the digestive tract. Some can survive the journey and colonise the large intestine, contributing to the gut microbiome and potentially influencing inflammation and metabolism.

"We know that about a third of oral bacteria end up in the gut, but we still don't fully understand the pathways behind these bidirectional effects," said Cheryl Sew Hoy, CEO of Tiny Health. "That's what makes this study exciting. By analysing both microbiomes simultaneously, we can start mapping those connections in ways that could help people address issues like IBS, metabolic dysfunction, or chronic inflammation much earlier than we can today."

This study aims to uncover patterns that could help detect imbalances earlier and improve health outcomes across multiple systems.

"When we started Bristle, we knew there was still so much to discover about the oral microbiome and how it impacts the rest of the body," said Brian Maurer, Co-Founder of Bristle Health. "This partnership with Tiny Health lets us advance that discovery in a major way. We are eager to see how oral and gut bacteria interact at the individual level—and use those insights to actually help people solve chronic health issues that have stumped them for years."