Grant: Project Grant

Many First Nations and Metis children develop Early Childhood Caries (ECC), which is tooth decay involving baby teeth in children < 6 years of age. Several will suffer from an aggressive form of ECC, called severe ECC (S-ECC). S-ECC often requires treatment under general anesthesia. A recent joint position statement on "ECC in Indigenous Communities" recommends research on the microbiology of ECC. The dental microbiome, which includes the tooth microorganisms, their genomes and the surrounding environmental conditions is the major risk factor for tooth decay. There is an urgent need to identify all of the various risk factors, like sex of the child, access to care, diet, and dental microbiome, and how these interact, to understand why many First Nations and Metis children develop ECC. This led to our hypothesis that because of limited access to oral health care, poverty and lack of clean water, food insecurity, and a lack of traditional diets, "First Nations and Metis children with ECC have higher levels of harmful microbial strains that increase their risk for tooth decay". We will: 1) Determine the composition of the dental microbiome and its role in severe tooth decay risk in First Nations and Metis children. The focus in this aim is to identify the strain or type of bacteria and fungi strains that are associated with S-ECC. In keeping with our established distinction-based practices, this information will be reported separately for First Nations and Metis children. 2) Physiologically characterize the bacterial strains that increase risk for S-ECC and healthy strains associated with caries-free children. The idea behind these experiments is to understand why only some dental microorganisms cause tooth decay and the local environmental factors that might influence them. This research on the dental microbiome associated with severe tooth decay will assist with new lines of possible tooth decay prevention strategies for young First Nations and Metis children.