Analysis of the composition of microbiota of the oral mucosa and recurrent aphthae

BACKGROUND: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is a common disease of the oral mucosa. One of the most substantiated theories of the occurrence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis is the role of immunobacterial mechanisms.

AIM: To study the composition of the microbiota of the oral mucosa and recurrent aphthae in children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five children with aphthous stomatitis aged 7–14 years were examined. The patients underwent a microbiological study of the microbiota from the lesion (aphtha) and unaffected oral mucosa.

RESULTS: Fifteen types of microorganisms, represented by aerobes and anaerobes, were identified. Streptococcus significantly enriches the microbiota of the oral mucosa, and Streptococcus, E. сoli, and S. epidermidis significantly enrich the microbiota of the aphthae. Additionally, the number of yeast-like cells of the genus Candida in the lesions significantly increased (7.13±2.68 lg CFU/ml). In children, the surface of the aphthae had increased S. mutans (5.47±1.83 lg CFU/ml) compared to the oral mucosa, where the number was 2.35±0.12 lg CFU/ml, with an incidence of 93 and 100%, respectively. S. sanguinis was found equally in both groups (100%), the amount of infestation of which did not differ significantly. S. aureus and Klebsiella spp. were found in 93 and 18% of cases, respectively, only in aphthae, and the number was significantly high (p <0.001) at 5.13±1.68 and 4.13±1.38 lg CFU/ml, respectively, than on oral mucosa.

CONCLUSION: A change in the microflora in the oral cavity was established in all children with recurrent aphthous stomatitis — a decrease in the lesions (aphthae) in the representatives of Streptococcus in bacterial communities, Lactobacillus with an increase in the number of yeast-like cells of the genus Candida and the appearance in the biocenosis from the surface of aphthous ulcers S. aureus, E. coli and S. epidermidis. Streptococcus significantly prevails in the oral mucosa, and Streptococcus, E. coli, and S. epidermidis colonize the aphthae.