Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25758458›Full record

ReviewJournal of dental research2015

Oral Lactobacilli and Dental Caries: A Model for Niche Adaptation in Humans.

P W Caufield, C N Schön, P Saraithong, Y Li, S Argimón

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of dental research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 146 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
146citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
12.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

146 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 279 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Unveiling the dual nature ofFrontiers in oral health · 2025
    Pooled it
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  7. Manual vs. interactive power toothbrush on plaque removal and salivary Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei levels : Single-center, examiner-blinded, randomized clinical trial in orthodontic patients.Journal of orofacial orthopedics = Fortschritte der Kieferorthopadie : Organ/official journal Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Kieferorthopadie · 2024
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86 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

P W CaufieldNew York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA page.caufield@nyu.edu.
C N SchönNew York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA.
P SaraithongNew York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA.
Y LiNew York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA.
S ArgimónNew York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA.
New York University · US

Funding

Diversity of Lactobacilli Associated with Severe Early Childhood CariesR01DE019455 · NIDCR · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · PI CAUFIELD, PAGE W, LI, YIHONG · 2011 to 2014
$2.5M
NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE019455
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lactobacilli have been associated with dental caries for over a century. Here, we review the pertinent literature along with findings from our own study to formulate a working hypothesis about the natural history and role of lactobacilli. Unlike most indigenous microbes that stably colonize a host, lactobacilli appear to be planktonic, opportunistic settlers that can gather and multiply only in certain restrictive niches of the host, at least within the oral cavity. We postulate that the following essential requirements are necessary for sustained colonization of lactobacilli in humans: 1) a stagnant, retentive niche that is mostly anaerobic; 2) a low pH milieu; and 3) ready access to carbohydrates. Three sites on the human body meet these specifications: caries lesions, the stomach, and the vagina. Only a handful of Lactobacillus species is found in caries lesions, but they are largely absent in caries-free children. Lactobacilli present in caries lesions represent both a major contributor to caries progression and a major reservoir to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We extend the assertion from other investigators that lactobacilli found in the GI tract originate in the oral cavity by proposing that lactobacilli in the oral cavity arise from caries lesions. This, in turn, leads us to reflect on the health implications of the lactobacilli in the mouth and downstream GI and to ponder whether these or any of the Lactobacillus species are truly indigenous to the human GI tract or the oral cavity.

Indexed as

AnaerobiosisDental CariesDisease ProgressionGastrointestinal TractHumansHydrogen-Ion ConcentrationLactobacillusMouthStreptococcus mutansSucroseSucrosecolonizationgastrointestinal tractLactobacillusmouthmutans streptococcinatural history

Identifiers

PMID25758458
PMCPMC4547204
OpenAlexW2049280327

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.