Oral health status and subgingival microbiota in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

This study aimed to compare the oral and dental health status and the oral microbiota of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with those of healthy children.

The 60 patients with JIA and 26 healthy children were included in the study. Decayed, missing, filled teeth index (DMFT/dmft), oral hygiene index (OHI), gingival index (GI), and papillary bleeding (PB) index analyses were performed for the permanent and deciduous teeth of the patients in the pediatric dental clinic. Subgingival plaque samples were taken from the gingival groove and tooth surface with a sterile swab and stored in a -80C freezer. Following the DNA isolation, the analysis of microbiota content was performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing method.

The oral hygiene index (p=0.045), debris index (p=0.000), gingival index (p=0.001), and papillary bleeding index (p=0.002) were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group. Oral microbiome analysis found no significant difference in alpha and beta diversity between the groups. Porphyromonas and Peptostreptococcus (Peptostreptococcales-Tissierellales) were more common in JIA, while the presence of Atopobium, Scardovia, Rothia, and Propionivibrio were higher in the control group.

In our study, The oral hygiene index (OHI) value, debris index (DI), and PBI were significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group. Some bacteria such as Porphyromonas and Peptostreptococcus were more common in the JIA group, compared to the control group. This study shows that the oral health and oral microbiota populations of children with JIA may be altered compared to healthy children. These changes may create a predisposition to local inflammatory processes and potentially contribute to the onset and severity of the disease.