Pediatric Dental Caries Microbiome Profiles from Saliva and Plaque

Thirty-six children aged 3–5 years were selected for a study comparing the oral microbiota of those with rampant caries, arrested caries, and caries-free conditions. Microbial DNA from 72 saliva and plaque samples was sequenced for the 16S rRNA V3-V4 region using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The dataset, created by Meimei Li and last updated in April 2026, contains bioinformatics analysis results from QIIME2, identifying differential microbial abundances associated with caries states.

Use Cases

• Compare alpha and beta diversity metrics between saliva and plaque microbiomes based on the described analysis.
• Identify microbial taxa associated with rampant caries versus arrested caries based on the differential abundance results.
• Investigate potential species-level biomarkers for specific clinical caries states mentioned in the description.
• Analyze the distinct structural differences in plaque microbiome communities across different caries statuses.

Strengths

• Includes data from 72 samples (saliva and plaque) collected from 36 children.
• Sequencing targeted the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform.
• Bioinformatics analysis was performed with the standardized QIIME2 pipeline and SILVA database.
• Statistical analysis included Kruskal–Wallis test with Benjamini-Hochberg correction.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is very small at 1.9 KB, indicating limited scope, likely containing summary or processed results rather than raw sequence data.

Provenance

Source

Meimei Li via figshare.

Collection Method

Microbial DNA extraction and 16S rRNA gene sequencing from non-stimulated saliva and dental plaque samples.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 05:21:40; freshness should be verified.