Study on Microbial Diversity of Oral Plaque in Patients with Different Levels of Low-grade Childhood Caries in Kashgar Region

doi:10.13701/j.cnki.kqyxyj.2025.09.011

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: To investigate the compositional characteristics of oral microflora in patients with mild to moderate or severe low-grade childhood caries in Kashgar region by high-throughput sequencing based on 16S rRNA gene. Methods: A total of 24 patients with low-grade childhood caries in Kashgar area were selected and grouped according to the DMFT index: mild low-grade childhood caries (1≤DMFT≤2, group D); moderate low-grade childhood caries (3≤DMFT≤4, group M); and severe low-grade childhood caries (DMFT≥5, group H), with 8 patients in each group. The corresponding dental plaque samples were collected, and high-throughput sequencing methods were used to compare the characteristics and differences in oral flora composition among the three groups. Results: The diversity of oral microorganisms in the samples from the mild to moderate or severe group did not show significant differences, and the microbial community structure was relatively stable. At the phylum level, the plaque richness was significantly increased mainly in the phylum Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, etc., and the differences were not statistically significant, although there were changes in the relative abundance ratio. Higher plaque abundance at the genus level mainly included Streptococcus, Capnocytophaga, Leptotrichia, Veillonella, Neisseria, Prevotella, Porphyromonas, Gemella, Fusobacterium, Aggregatibacter, etc. Among them, the percentage of Streptococcus gradually decreased with increasing severity, and there was a statistically significant difference in the percentage between mild and moderately severe (P<0.05). The percentage of Neisseria decreased and the percentage of Prevotella increased in patients with severe early childhood caries compared with mild-moderate, and both were statistically different (P<0.05). Streptococcus and Neisseria in mild group, Capnocytophaga in moderate group, and Campylobacter and Anaerocolumna in severe group in the LefSe analysis were the significant Biomarker. Conclusion: The overall structure of oral plaque microflora is relatively stable in patients with mild to moderate or severe early childhood caries, and the increased abundance of some of them was related to the severity of early childhood caries.

Key words: early childhood caries, plaque, 16S rRNA, microbial diversity

CHEN Yilei, CHENG Mengke, YAN Hongjuan, SHEN Yufeng, WU Nan, CHEN Min. Study on Microbial Diversity of Oral Plaque in Patients with Different Levels of Low-grade Childhood Caries in Kashgar Region[J]. Journal of Oral Science Research, 2025, 41(9): 800-805.

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