Non-Cochrane · aetiology · PM39895020
Streptococcus mutans and Caries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Mazurel D, Brandt B W, Boomsma M, et al. · Journal of dental research · 2025 · PubMed · doi:10.1177/00220345241303880
Full textEvery question was extracted from the full text, figures and supplements by two independent LLM extractors, disagreements adjudicated. Rows cite where in the review the value comes from.
Questions
4
current version
GRADE rated
0
No studies
0
Included studies
20
linked below
No studies 0 · 0%Ungraded 4 · 100%Very low 0 · 0%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults) assessed for dental caries | 19 included studies; participants aged 40 months to 50 years, 20 to 154 per study; 7 countries (China n=8, USA n=5, Sweden n=2, Denmark/Australia/Kuwait/Thailand n=1 each) |
| Intervention | Caries-active status (presence of dental caries / caries experience) | Caries-active individuals (criteria varied: S-ECC n=7, ICDAS II n=2, self-defined n=10; DFT>=1 to dmft/DMFT>=7) |
| Comparison | Caries-free individuals | Caries-free individuals (15 studies required no decayed/missing/filled surfaces or teeth; 4 required only no active carious lesions) |
| Outcomes | Prevalence and/or relative abundance of S. mutans in oral samples; composition of the oral microbial community (at least 40 species) by a DNA/RNA-based method | Prevalence of S. mutans reported by 13 to 16 studies (meta-analyzed: saliva 8 studies OR 3.12 [2.02, 4.83], I2=0%; plaque 7 studies OR 2.58 [1.65, 4.02], I2=16%); relative abundance reported by 11 studies (meta-analyzed: saliva 5 studies SMD 1.48 [0.45, 2.50], I2=90%); oral microbiome composition and diversity summarized narratively |
| Study designs | Case-control, clinical intervention, or longitudinal studies | 19 observational clinical studies (case-control/cross-sectional/longitudinal); 3 of 22 excluded for high risk of bias |
| Timing | Not specified | Cross-sectional (single time point) for most studies |
Search date: May 22, 2023. Databases: PubMed; Cochrane; Embase
Questions and results
Caries-active status (presence of dental caries) vs Caries-free status
Population: Systemically healthy individuals (children and adults, aged 40 months to 50 years) assessed for dental caries
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva Cross-sectional · Saliva sample The relative abundance of S. mutans in saliva is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled SMD 1.48, 95% CI 0.45 to 2.50), but heterogeneity is very high (I2=90%); ungraded. Source: Figure 3C (forest plot, saliva relative abundance, pooled diamond); Results 'Meta-Analysis of S. mutans Prevalence and Relative Abundance' · same question in other reviews | SMD 1.48 [0.45, 2.50] | 5 studies · 258 participants | Ungraded |
Oral microbial community composition and diversity (other caries-associated taxa; alpha- and beta-diversity) Cross-sectional No oral microbial taxon other than S. mutans was consistently associated with caries; alpha-diversity mostly did not differ between caries-active and caries-free groups and beta-diversity findings were mixed (ungraded, narrative). Source: Results 'Composition of the Oral Microbiome in the CA and CF Groups'; Table 3; Appendix Table 5 · same question in other reviews | Narrative synthesis (no pooled estimate): no bacterial genus or species other than S. mutans was consistently (reported in more than 2 studies) associated with caries-active status (Table 3; 15 of 19 studies for… | NR | Ungraded |
Prevalence (detection frequency) of S. mutans in plaque Cross-sectional · Plaque sample S. mutans prevalence in plaque is significantly higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals (pooled OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.65 to 4.02; I2=16%); ungraded. Source: Figure 3B (forest plot, plaque prevalence, pooled diamond); Results 'Meta-Analysis of S. mutans Prevalence and Relative Abundance' · same question in other reviews | OR 2.58 [1.65, 4.02] | 7 studies · 559 participants | Ungraded |
Prevalence (detection frequency) of S. mutans in saliva Saliva sample Population: Healthy caries-active and caries-free individuals S. mutans detection in saliva was higher in caries-active than caries-free individuals. Source: Figure 3A; Meta-Analysis of S. mutans Prevalence and Relative Abundance · same question in other reviews | OR 3.12 [2.02, 4.83] | 6 studies · 490 participants | Ungraded |
Included primary studies 20
Open as a trial list| Study | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial PICO | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dashper et al. 2019 Temporal development of the oral microbiome and prediction of early childhood caries. PMID:31874981 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Eriksson et al. 2017 Saliva and tooth biofilm bacterial microbiota in adolescents in a low caries community. PMID:28724921 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Garcia et al. 2021 Association of Candida albicans and Cbp+ Streptococcus mutans with early childhood caries recurrence. PMID:34031498 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Wu et al. 2022 Multimodal Data Integration Reveals Mode of Delivery and Snack Consumption Outrank Salivary Microbiome in Association With Caries Outcome… PMID:35677657 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Zheng et al. 2018 Comparative Analysis of the Microbial Profiles in Supragingival Plaque Samples Obtained From Twins With Discordant Caries Phenotypes and… PMID:30460203 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Baker et al. 2021 Deep metagenomics examines the oral microbiome during dental caries, revealing novel taxa and co-occurrences with host molecules. PMID:33239396 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Belstrom et al. 2017 Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis of saliva reveals disease-associated microbiota in patients with periodontitis and dental… PMID:28979798 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Havsed et al. 2021 Bacterial Composition and Metabolomics of Dental Plaque From Adolescents. PMID:34395316 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Jiang et al. 2016 Salivary Microbiome Diversity in Caries-Free and Caries-Affected Children. PMID:27898021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Kanasi et al. 2010 Clonal analysis of the microbiota of severe early childhood caries. PMID:20861633 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Li et al. 2021 Geographic Variation Did Not Affect the Predictive Power of Salivary Microbiota for Caries in Children With Mixed Dentition. PMID:34222048 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Ma et al. 2015 Comparison of oral microbial profiles between children with severe early childhood caries and caries-free children using the human oral… PMID:25821962 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Qudeimat et al. 2021 Dental plaque microbiota profiles of children with caries-free and caries-active dentition. PMID:33248211 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Tang et al. 2022 Taxonomic and functional alterations in the salivary microbiota of children with and without severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) at the… PMID:35669952 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Tanner et al. 2011 Microbiota of severe early childhood caries before and after therapy. PMID:21868693 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Wang et al. 2022 [Dynamic Microbial Shifts and Functional Analysis of Saliva Microbial Communities with Caries Children]. PMID:35332724 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Wu et al. 2021 Long non-coding RNA LSINCT5 inactivates Wnt/β-catenin pathway to regulate MCF-7 cell proliferation and motility through targeting the… PMID:33490147 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Wu et al. 2021 Machine Learning Approach Identified Multi-Platform Factors for Caries Prediction in Child-Mother Dyads. PMID:34490147 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Yang et al. 2021 The impact of caries status on supragingival plaque and salivary microbiome in children with mixed dentition: a cross-sectional survey. PMID:34172026 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
| Zheng et al. 2017 Ecological Effect of Arginine on Oral Microbiota. PMID:28775282 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match).