Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Montelupich 4, 31-155 Cracow, Poland.
Department of Mycology, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Czysta St 18, 31-121 Cracow, Poland.
Nutrients. 2020 Aug 26;12(9):2592. doi: 10.3390/nu12092592.
The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis about differences in sweet taste perception in the group of preschool children with and without caries, and to determine its relationship with cariogenic microbiota and the frequency of sweets consumption in children. The study group included of 63 children aged 2-6 years: 32 with caries and 31 without caries. The study consisted of collecting questionnaire data and assessment of dental status using the decayed, missing, filled in primary teeth index (dmft) and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II). The evaluation of sweet taste perception was carried out using a specific method that simultaneously assessed the level of taste preferences and the sensitivity threshold for a given taste. The microbiological analysis consisted of the assessment of the quantitative and qualitative compositions of the oral microbiota of the examined children. The sweet taste perception of children with caries was characterized by a lower susceptibility to sucrose (the preferred sucrose solution concentration was >4 g/L) compared to children without caries (in the range ≤ 4 g/L, = 0.0015, chi-square test). A similar relationship was also observed for frequent snacking between meals ( = 0.0038, chi-square test). The analysis of studied variables showed the existence of a strong positive correlation between the perception of sweet taste and the occurrence and intensity of the cariogenic process ( = 0.007 for dmft; and = 0.012 for ICDAS II), as well as the frequency of consuming sweets ( ≤ 0.001 for frequent and repeated consumption of sweets during the day, Spearman test) in children with caries. Additionally, children with an elevated sucrose taste threshold were more than 10-times more likely to develop presence (OR = 10.21; 95% CI 3.11-33.44). The results of this study suggest the future use of taste preferences in children as a diagnostic tool for the early detection of increased susceptibility to caries through microbial dysbiosis towards specific species of microorganisms.
本研究旨在验证学龄前儿童中有无龋齿组在甜味感知方面存在差异的假设，并确定其与致龋微生物群和儿童甜食摄入频率的关系。研究组包括 63 名 2-6 岁儿童：32 名有龋齿，31 名无龋齿。研究包括收集问卷数据和使用龋齿、失牙、补牙指数（dmft）和国际龋病检测和评估系统（ICDAS II）评估牙齿状况。甜味感知评估采用一种特定方法进行，该方法同时评估了味觉偏好水平和特定味觉的敏感性阈值。微生物分析包括评估受检儿童口腔微生物群的定量和定性组成。与无龋齿儿童相比，患有龋齿的儿童的甜味感知表现为对蔗糖的敏感性较低（首选蔗糖溶液浓度>4 g/L， = 0.0015，卡方检验）。在两餐之间频繁吃零食的情况也观察到类似的关系（ = 0.0038，卡方检验）。对研究变量的分析表明，甜味感知与致龋过程的发生和强度之间存在强烈的正相关（dmft 为 = 0.007；ICDAS II 为 = 0.012），以及儿童甜食的摄入频率（ = 0.001，频繁和重复摄入甜食，Spearman 检验）。此外，蔗糖味觉阈值升高的儿童患龋齿的可能性增加了 10 倍以上（OR = 10.21；95%CI 3.11-33.44）。本研究结果表明，未来可以将味觉偏好作为一种诊断工具，用于通过微生物失调检测儿童对特定微生物物种的龋齿易感性增加，从而早期发现龋齿。
