The Bacterial Oral Microbiome in Children with Congenital Heart Disease: An Extensive Review

Abstract

Children with congenital heart disease have poorer oral health compared with healthy children. Oral diseases, such as dental caries and gingivitis, are associated with the oral microbiome. The objective of this review was to find evidence of differences in the bacterial colonization of the oral cavity of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) versus healthy children. A literature review was conducted according to predetermined criteria, including the need for controlled clinical trials. Half of the 14 studies that met the inclusion criteria reported significant differences in bacterial colonization in children with congenital heart disease. A variety of influencing factors were discussed. There is some evidence for alterations in the oral microflora as a result of physiopathological and treatment-related factors in children with CHD, but additional research is required to validate these findings.

Keywords: children; congenital heart disease; oral microbiome.

Figure 1

Search terms for the literature search in PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/; last accessed on 1 August 2023).

Figure 2

Taxonomy of the literature search.

Figure 3

Investigated media and distribution of differences in bacterial colonization in relation to the number of available studies (CHD [red arrow]: congenital heart disease, CON [green arrow]: control, NON [yellow arrow]: none of the groups). Sources: Ajami et al. (2015) [44], Bozdogan et al. (2016) [41], Franco (1996) [6], Hansson et al. (2012) [38], Koh et al. (1986) [37], Mohamed Ali et al. (2017) [22], Pourmoghaddas et al. (2018) [45], Rosén et al. (2010) [39], Schulz-Weidner et al. (2021) [40], Steelman et al. (2000) [35], Steelman et al. (2003) [36], Suvarna et al. (2011) [11], Topcuoglu et al. (2013) [42], Torres et al. [43]. © Figure 3 by Dr. Maria Hofmann.