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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Oral Microbes and Host
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1541785
Microbial shifts in dental plaque of children with severe early childhood caries following comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia
Provisionally accepted- 1 State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 2 Department of Pediatric Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Objective: To elucidate the microbial diversities and compositions of dental plaque in children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) before and after comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia, contributing evidence for the reestablishment of oral microecological balance.Design: Twenty children aged 2.2-5.5 years diagnosed with S-ECC without systemic diseases were enrolled in this study. Dental plaque samples were collected before and after treatment, analyzed using high-throughput sequencing on the Illumina Miseq platform. Bioinformatics methods were employed to compare the dental plaque microbial diversity and compositions differences before and after comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia.Results: Significant enhancements in dental plaque microbial diversity were observed post-comprehensive -treatment (P < 0.05). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria significantly decreased after treatment (P < 0.05). At the genus level, the relative abundance of Streptococcus, Neisseria, and Rothia significantly declined (P < 0.05), while Prevotella showed a significant increase after treatment (P < 0.05).Conclusions: Following comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia, children with S-ECC exhibit significant changes in the microbial diversity and composition of dental plaque, indicating a shift towards a more balanced oral microecological state. This study hightlights the importance of dental intervention in positively altering oral microbiota.
Keywords: Severe early childhood caries, Comprehensive dental treatment, highthroughput sequencing, Microecological balance, Dental Plaque
Received: 14 Jan 2025; Accepted: 04 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Huang, Ma and Zou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qizhao Ma, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Jing Zou, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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