3.3. Oral Microbiota
Alpha-diversity (i.e., the microbial diversity of a sample) was calculated using the Shannon and Simpson indices. The Shannon alpha diversity index showed a slight, albeit significant difference in change from baseline to follow-up between the high protein and control group (linear mixed model visit × intervention for the Shannon and Simpson alpha diversity measures Beta-diversity (i.e., the microbial dissimilarity between samples) was assessed using the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity measure. This was used to evaluate the overall microbial compositional differences between groups. Bray–Curtis dissimilarity changed significantly from baseline to follow-up in the high protein group compared to the control group (