Children with HIV are known to be at higher risk of oral disease because of their weakened immune systems and their typically low socioeconomic status.Credit: Majority World CIC / Alamy Stock Photo
Researchers from Nigeria and the United States have produced unexpected results on the bacteria involved in the development of dental cavities in young children with HIV.
The study involved metagenomic analyses of plaque samples collected from nearly 500 children at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital in southern Nigeria. Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium known to contribute significantly to tooth decay, was found at lower levels in the children with HIV than in other groups
The findings are of particular importance in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the largest number of children with mother-to-child transmitted HIV.
Children with HIV are known to be at higher risk of oral disease because of their weakened immune systems and their typically low socioeconomic status. The team looked at the diversity of the microbiome in children’s mouths and found differences in microbiomes are more pronounced in diseased teeth than healthy teeth, suggesting that the impact of HIV is more severe as cavities progress, explains Vincent Richards of Clemson University in the United States, who led the study with Modupe Coker, a Nigerian-trained dentist and faculty at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in the US.
“This finding highlights the complexity of the development of cavities and other comorbidities in children with HIV, receiving life-long treatment,” says Coker.
