Melbourne Dental School - Research Publications
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ItemBreastmilk influences development and composition of the oral microbiome(TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2022-12-31)BACKGROUND: Human microbiomes assemble in an ordered, reproducible manner yet there is limited information about early colonisation and development of bacterial communities that constitute the oral microbiome. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of exposure to breastmilk on assembly of the infant oral microbiome during the first 20 months of life. METHODS: The oral microbiomes of 39 infants, 13 who were never breastfed and 26 who were breastfed for more than 10 months, from the longitudinal VicGeneration birth cohort study, were determined at four ages. In total, 519 bacterial taxa were identified and quantified in saliva by sequencing the V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the development of the oral microbiomes of never breastfed and breastfed infants. Bacterial diversity was significantly higher in never breastfed infants at 2 months, due largely to an increased abundance of Veillonella and species from the Bacteroidetes phylum compared with breastfed infants. CONCLUSION: These differences likely reflect breastmilk playing a prebiotic role in selection of early-colonising, health-associated oral bacteria, such as the Streptococcus mitis group. The microbiomes of both groups became more heterogenous following the introduction of solid foods.
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ItemFeasibility and development of a cariogenic diet scale for epidemiological research(WILEY, 2019-05-01)BACKGROUND: Diet cariogenicity plays a major role as both a protective and risk factor in the development of early childhood caries (ECC). AIM: Develop a scale measuring the cariogenicity of foods and beverages and employ it to describe the cariogenicity of young children's diets and predict dental caries outcomes. DESIGN: Scores of cariogenicity and consumption frequency were applied to food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) collected from an Australian children's cohort study with three time-points of data. One-way ANOVA, with post hoc Tukey test compared mean cariogenic scale measured at 18 months between the subsample of children with caries classification at age 5 years. RESULTS: At 6 months, children's mean cariogenic score was 10.05, increasing to 34.18 at 12 and 50.00 at 18 months. Mean cariogenic scale score at 18 months was significantly higher in children with advanced disease at 5 years (mean scale score: 59.0 ± 15.9) compared to those that were healthy (mean score 47.7 ± 17.5, P = 0.007) or had mild-moderate disease (mean score 48.2 ± 17.3, P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The cariogenic diet scale provides a useful indication of the increasing cariogenicity of children's diets with age and highlights the incorporation of discretionary choice foods and beverages into the diets of young children much earlier than nutritionally recommended.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableNutrition and oral health in early childhood: associations with formal and informal childcare(CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2021-04-01)OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between childcare type and nutrition and oral health indicators. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data extracted from a longitudinal birth cohort. Parent-completed FFQ and questions regarding oral health and childcare use. The associations between childcare type, classified into four groups: parent care only (PCO), formal childcare only (FCO), informal childcare only (ICO) or combination of care (F&I), and nutrition and oral health indicators were examined. SETTING: Home and childcare. PARTICIPANTS: Families with children aged 3 years (n 273) and 4 years (n 249) in Victoria, Australia. RESULTS: No associations were observed between childcare type and core food/beverage consumption or oral health indicators. For discretionary beverages, compared with children receiving PCO at age 3 years, children in FCO or F&I were less likely to frequently consume fruit juice/drinks (FCO: adjusted OR (AOR) 0·41, 95 % CI 0·17, 0·96, P = 0·04; F&I: AOR 0·32, 95 % CI 0·14, 0·74, P = 0·008). At age 4 years, children receiving FCO or ICO were less likely to consume sweet beverages frequently compared with children receiving PCO: fruit juice/drink (ICO: AOR 0·42, 95 % CI 0·19, 0·94, P = 0·03; FCO: AOR 0·35, 95 % CI 0·14, 0·88, P = 0·03) and soft drink (ICO: AOR 0·23, 95 % CI 0·07, 0·74, P = 0·01; FCO: AOR 0·14, 95 % CI 0·03, 0·76, P = 0·02). CONCLUSIONS: Associations between childcare type and discretionary beverage intake were observed. Investigation into knowledge, attitudes and activities in formal and informal childcare settings is required to explore different health promotion practices that may influence nutrition and oral health.
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ItemNatural history of dental caries in very young Australian children(WILEY, 2016-05-01)BACKGROUND: Whilst the global burden of caries is increasing, the trajectory of decay in young children and the point at which prevention should occur has not been well established. AIM: To identify the 'natural history' of dental caries in early childhood. DESIGN: A birth cohort study was established with 467 mother/child dyads followed at 1, 6, 12, 18, and 36 months of age. Parent-completed surveys captured demographic, social, and behavioural data, and oral examinations provided clinical and data. RESULTS: Eight per cent of children (95% confidence interval (CI): 5-12%) at 18 months and 23% (95% CI: 18-28%) at 36 months experienced decay. Interesting lesion behaviour was found between 18 and 36 months, with rapid development of new lesions on sound teeth (70% of teeth, 95% CI: 63-76%) and regression of many lesions from non-cavitated lesions to sound (23% of teeth, 95% CI: 17-30%). Significant associations were found between soft drink consumption and lesion progression. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest optimal time periods for screening and prevention of a disease which significantly impacts multiple health and well-being outcomes across the life course.
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ItemTemporal development of the oral microbiome and prediction of early childhood caries(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2019-12-24)Human microbiomes are predicted to assemble in a reproducible and ordered manner yet there is limited knowledge on the development of the complex bacterial communities that constitute the oral microbiome. The oral microbiome plays major roles in many oral diseases including early childhood caries (ECC), which afflicts up to 70% of children in some countries. Saliva contains oral bacteria that are indicative of the whole oral microbiome and may have the ability to reflect the dysbiosis in supragingival plaque communities that initiates the clinical manifestations of ECC. The aim of this study was to determine the assembly of the oral microbiome during the first four years of life and compare it with the clinical development of ECC. The oral microbiomes of 134 children enrolled in a birth cohort study were determined at six ages between two months and four years-of-age and their mother's oral microbiome was determined at a single time point. We identified and quantified 356 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of bacteria in saliva by sequencing the V4 region of the bacterial 16S RNA genes. Bacterial alpha diversity increased from a mean of 31 OTUs in the saliva of infants at 1.9 months-of-age to 84 OTUs at 39 months-of-age. The oral microbiome showed a distinct shift in composition as the children matured. The microbiome data were compared with the clinical development of ECC in the cohort at 39, 48, and 60 months-of-age as determined by ICDAS-II assessment. Streptococcus mutans was the most discriminatory oral bacterial species between health and current disease, with an increased abundance in disease. Overall our study demonstrates an ordered temporal development of the oral microbiome, describes a limited core oral microbiome and indicates that saliva testing of infants may help predict ECC risk.