Children's Dental Plaque and Saliva Microbiome Data from a Caries Study

Thirty-six children aged 3–5 years were grouped by caries status for a study comparing microbial profiles. The dataset includes 72 samples of non-stimulated saliva and dental plaque, with 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V3-V4 region performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Analysis with QIIME2 and the SILVA database identified distinct plaque microbiome structures associated with rampant and arrested caries.

Use Cases

• Compare alpha and beta diversity metrics between saliva and plaque samples based on the described analysis.
• Identify taxonomic biomarkers for different caries states based on the differential abundance analysis mentioned.
• Investigate the association between specific bacterial taxa (e.g., Bacteroidota, Prevotella, Fusobacteriota) and clinical caries activity.
• Validate findings on plaque dysbiosis linked to caries status using the provided microbial community data.

Strengths

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

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is very small (537.0 B), indicating limited scope and likely summary-level data.
• The sample size of 12 children per group may limit the generalizability of findings.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author Meimei Li.

Collection Method

Microbial DNA was extracted from clinical samples, sequenced, and analyzed bioinformatically as described.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 05:21:39; freshness should be verified.