V originále
Backgrounds: Dental caries is the worldwide most common infectious disease within the oral cavity. Caries in the primary dentition is referred to as Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and is associated with the presence of oral cariogenic bacteria. The role of other oral candidas in the ECC development is not fully understood. Our study aimed to investigate the occurrence of Candida sp. in preschool children according to their oral status. Methods: In this case-control association study, samples of dental plaque were collected from 164 children with ECC (with 6 or more of decayed,missed or filled teeth) and 147 children without dental caries. MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy was used to identify Candida sp. Results: In all, 12 Candida sp. were identified in our study group. The occurrence of Candida sp. was significantly associated with sECC (odds ratio, OR 11.40, p < 0.001). The strongest association was with C. dubliniensis (OR 13.50, p < 0.001) and C. albicans (OR 6.83, p < 0.001). Conclusions/Learning Points: The presence of C. dubliniensis and C. albicans in dental plaque is an important indicator of dental caries development in preschool children. This research was supported by Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, grant number: IGA NR8394-3/2005, NV17-30439A, NU20-08-00205, and by a project provided by University Hospital Brno, Ministry of Health Czech Republic – RVO (FNBr, 65269705). This publication has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 857560. Authors also thank the Research Infrastructure RECETOX RI (No LM2018121) and project CETOCOEN EXCELLENCE (No CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_043/0009632) financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for supportive background.