Children With Type 1 Diabetes Carried More Periodontal Pathogens in Mixed Dentition

Edited by Dentaltown staff

Children with type 1 diabetes showed higher detection rates for six major periodontal pathogens during mixed dentition than matched healthy children, while differences narrowed in permanent dentition, according to a study published Aug. 12 in Scientific Reports.

Researchers examined 34 children with type 1 diabetes, 23 in mixed dentition and 11 in permanent dentition, alongside 34 healthy children matched for age and biological sex. Dental plaque specimens were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction targeting 10 major periodontopathic bacterial species.

The pattern differed sharply by dentition stage. In mixed dentition, detection rates for six of the 10 species were significantly higher in the children with diabetes at P less than .05. In permanent dentition, only one species showed a significant difference, at P less than .01.

Broader microbiome analysis found the reverse pattern for diversity. Alpha diversity was significantly lower in the permanent dentition of children with diabetes than in healthy children, at P less than .05, with no equivalent finding in mixed dentition.

At the genus level, one genus differed significantly in mixed dentition, while three genera differed in permanent dentition.

The authors concluded that children with type 1 diabetes show elevated detection of periodontopathic species primarily during mixed dentition and reduced microbiome diversity during permanent dentition, and that these shifts may contribute to oral dysbiosis.

Yuya Ito, Ami Kaneki, Masashi Ogawa, and colleagues, including senior author Kazuhiko Nakano, conducted the study.

The cohort was small, particularly the permanent dentition subgroup at 11 children, which limits confidence in the stage-specific comparisons. The design was observational and cross-sectional, so it cannot establish that diabetes caused the microbial differences, that the differences will progress to periodontal disease, or that the relationship runs in either direction.

Sources:
Scientific Reports, “Distribution of major periodontopathic bacterial species and oral microbiome characteristics in children with type 1 diabetes across mixed and permanent dentitions,” published Aug. 12, 2026: nature.com/articles/s41598-026-66355-x