Oral Microbial Dependencies and Human Health: The Black Queen Hypothesis Across Metabolic, Neurological, and Aging Landscapes

Presented by:  Mark Cannon, DDS, MS, Professor Emeritus 

Original Publication Date: November 14, 2025 (AAOSH Accelerate 2025)

Course Description:

This lecture explores the Black Queen Hypothesis (BQH), an evolutionary theory that explains how microbes lose costly functions and become dependent on others within their communities, creating intricate metabolic interdependencies. We will discuss the relevance of BQH to host-oral microbe interactions, focusing on how microbial loss-of-function shapes metabolic disease and insulin resistance. The session will examine gut microbiota shifts due to exercise and aging, and highlight the role of probiotics in restoring epithelial barrier integrity to mitigate leaky gut and leaky gum (disease). Clinical applications will be reviewed, including prebiotic and probiotic interventions in Parkinson’s, Autism, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The lecture will contrast “common goods” versus “spoiled goods” in microbial ecosystems, providing a framework for understanding microbial dependencies and therapeutic leverage points in chronic disease and aging.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this lecture, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the Black Queen Hypothesis (BQH) and its relevance to microbial metabolic dependencies within oral, gut, and systemic ecosystems.
2. Describe how microbial loss-of-function and ecosystem imbalance contribute to insulin resistance, metabolic disease, and epithelial barrier dysfunction, including leaky gut and leaky gum.
3. Evaluate evidence-based probiotic and prebiotic strategies as therapeutic tools in chronic inflammatory, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Practical Applications:

• Integrate microbiome-informed interventions into patient care by identifying appropriate prebiotic and probiotic strategies to support epithelial barrier integrity and metabolic health.
• Apply the concepts of “common goods” versus “spoiled goods” to assess dysbiosis and guide clinical decision-making in patients with chronic inflammatory and age-related diseases.
• Counsel patients on lifestyle factors, including exercise and aging-related microbiome changes, to promote microbial resilience and reduce systemic disease risk.

Method: Lecture

Location: Online (Zoom)

AGD Course Code: 730 (Oral Medicine, Oral Diagnosis, Oral Pathology)

Credit Hours: 1

Speaker's Bio:

Mark L. Cannon, DDS is a Professor Emeritus and Attending Physician at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, a retired Professor of Otolaryngology in the Division of Dentistry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He is the founder of Associated Dental Specialists of Long Grove (1981) and serves as Research Coordinator for the Pediatric Dental Residency Program at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

With more than 45 years of experience in pediatric dentistry, Dr. Cannon has lectured nationally and internationally at leading universities and professional organizations across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. His areas of expertise include evolutionary oral medicine, gateway microbiomes, bioactive dental materials (patent holder), probiotics, and pediatric oral-systemic health.

Dr. Cannon is a Fellow and Diplomate of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, a Master Fellow and past President (2023) of the American Academy for Oral & Systemic Health, and a member of the International Association of Pediatric Dentistry. He has been invited to both the Nobel Forum (2016) and Nobel Assembly (2017) at the Karolinska Institutet.

His current research focuses on microbiome and epigenetic influences on systemic disease, including cancer prevention through prebiotics.

Conflict of Interest:

N/A