Periodontal Pathogens More Common in Children With Type 1 Diabetes, Study Finds

Edited by Hygienetown staff

Microbial differences between children with type 1 diabetes and healthy children varied by dentition stage, with elevated pathogen detection appearing during mixed dentition and reduced microbial diversity emerging later, according to a study published Aug. 12 in Scientific Reports.

In mixed dentition, detection rates for six of 10 major periodontopathic bacterial species were significantly higher among children with type 1 diabetes than among matched healthy children, at P less than .05. In permanent dentition, only one species differed significantly, at P less than .01.

Diversity ran the other way. Alpha diversity was significantly lower in the permanent dentition of children with diabetes, at P less than .05, with no equivalent difference at the mixed dentition stage. At the genus level, one genus differed significantly in mixed dentition compared with three in permanent dentition.

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

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, and the permanent dentition subgroup comprised only 11 children, which limits how much weight the stage-specific comparisons can carry. The design was observational and cross-sectional. It cannot establish that diabetes caused the microbial differences or that the differences will progress to periodontal disease, and it does not support changes to clinical protocols.

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