ORAL MICROBIOTA IN EARLY- CHILDHOOD CARIES PEDIATRIC PATIENTS — THE PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Carious lesions continue to be an urgent problem of modern practical healthcare. On the territory of Russia, there is insuffi cient data from epidemiological studies among children under 3 years of age on the incidence of early childhood caries. In Western countries, patients with early childhood caries are treated without fail under general anesthesia with concomitant hospitalization, which is stressful for the child and family, as well as a costly method for healthcare. Modern metagenomics makes possible to study the fundamental aspects of the problem of the etiology of caries with the subsequent development of etiotropic therapy and means of prevention. Along with other microorganisms, the genus Streptococcus is the leader in the development of the carious process. The study of pathogens, as well as the function of specifi c genes in dental pathology, becomes possible with the help of metagenomic sequencing. In this paper, children with early childhood caries were studied by polymerase chain reaction followed by metagenomic sequencing. The spectrum of microorganisms in diff erent children was studied and distributed among families. The study showed the need for further study of oral microbiota in children with early childhood caries to identify critically important pathogens.