ADA Forsyth’s microbiology department has been a global leader in research of the oral microbiome for over a century.
Groundbreaking advancements by Forsyth microbiologists include the first FDA-approved local delivery system to treat periodontitis, spatial imaging of the oral microbiome, and the creation of the Human Oral Microbiome Database, and many fundamental discoveries of microbes in the mouth.
ADA Forsyth investigators have named 32 bacterial species which commonly live in the oral cavity.
Listed below, six bacterial types have been named after four ADA Forsyth scientists in honor of their contributions to study of the oral microbiome.

Dr. Anne Tanner
Prevotella tannerae
Tannerella forsythia

Dr. Bruce Paster
Porphyromonas pasteri
Brucepastera parasyntrophica

Dr. Walter Loesche
Prevotella loescheii

Dr. Sigmund Socransky
Treponema socranskii