Molecular Screening of Scardoviawiggsiae - An Emerging Cariogenic Pathogen in Children below 5 Years with and Without Dental Caries

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a major health concern in the population of India. Cariogenic bacteria like Streptococcus mutans are the major factor in the disease progression. The Discovery of Scardoviawiggsiae relating to early childhood dental caries supported the evidence of multispecies infection in carious lesions. The study aims to qualitatively assess the presence of an emerging cariogenic pathogen Scardoviawiggsiae in children below 72 months with and without dental Caries using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In our study 100 children below 5 years are randomly recruited from the Dental Department and pediatric department at Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Hospital, Ammapetai, Chengalpattu District, Tamilnadu, India. Fifty children suffering from ECC and 50 children without caries were enrolled in the study. About 1?2 mL of unstimulated saliva was collected and subjected to microbial analysis using Real-time PCR.ECC group (n = 50) was found to have a significantly higher expression of S. wiggsiae (19) compared to the control group (n = 50). S. wiggsiae was detected at 38% in the ECC group and was detected negligibly (2%) in the control (caries-free) group. In our study the presence of S. wiggsiae was significantly associated with ECC in children. S. wiggsiae represents a new perimeter in the microbial etiology of ECC.