ArticleBMC oral health2026
Association of PCR-based oral bacterial profiles with fluorescence-detected plaque and caries experience in 3-year-old children: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundQuantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) is widely used to detect dental plaque. However, the microbial composition of QLF-detected plaque in young children remains poorly characterized. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the associations among 10 oral disease-associated bacterial species, QLF-detected plaques, and caries in 3-year-old children.
methodsNinety-nine 3-year-old children participated in this study. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quantified 10 target species, which were analyzed individually and as functional groups (red-complex, orange-complex, and caries-associated groups). Plaque on the labial surfaces was measured by QLF imaging and scored using the Fluorescence Patient Hygiene Performance Index (F-PHPI). The caries experience (dft) was clinically recorded. Associations were evaluated using Spearman’s correlation and regression analyses.
resultsThe F-PHPI score was significantly associated with Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) (ρ = 0.455, p < 0.05), the orange complex (ρ = 0.456, p < 0.001), and total bacterial load (ρ = 0.479, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that orange-complex levels predicted F-PHPI scores (R2 = 0.17). dft correlated with the caries-associated group (ρ = 0.282, p < 0.05), and logistic regression identified this group as a significant predictor (OR = 1.34, p = 0.01), with Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) the only individual species associated with caries (ρ = 0.286, p < 0.05).
conclusionsIn 3-year-old children, QLF-detected plaque was significantly associated with orange-complex bacteria. The F-PHPI served as a potential indicator of microbial load, with regression models confirming its predictive relationship with pathogenic bacterial groups. These findings support QLF imaging as a noninvasive tool for early microbial risk assessment in pediatric populations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.