All subjects included in this study were from the same
geographical area and the same dentist performed dental
extractions. Gender distribution was: 23 males/37 females for
the control group, and 35 males/25 females for the group affected
with cavities. Age ranges were as follows: 0–29 years (27 subjects
in the control group/8 in the group with cavities); 30–59 years (24/
42), and 60–99 years (9/9). Further data from the subjects included
in the study and features from dental pieces of both groups are
detailed in Table 1 and Table 2.
The fragmentation method allowed the complete extraction of
the pulp tissue in most of the teeth (Fig. 1), although scraping the
camera was necessary in those pieces with advanced cavities. DNA
extraction was successful in both groups, obtaining a variable
range of total concentration whereas purity values were homogeneous
(Fig. 2).
From the 120 dental pieces analyzed, a genetic profile was
obtained in 81 of them (67.5%), without statistical differences in
both groups, 41/60 (68.3%) in the control group and 40/60 (66.6%)
in the group with cavities (p = 0.846) (Tables 1 and 2). Nevertheless,
the distribution between full, partial and low profiles was
higher among the cavities group (35/3/3) than in the control group
(25/9/7). No statistical association between tooth type, DNA
concentration or purity and genetic profiles was obtained.
Bacterial DNA amplification was not obtained in any of the 60
pieces from the control group, whereas a complex bacterial profile
was obtained in 40 out of the 60 samples in the cavities group
In general, complex bacterial communities were detected within this
latter group, being Streptococcus/Enterococcus and Lactobacillus the
most represented genera (Fig. 3). The statistical analysis failed to
establish an association between the microbiota and the human
profiles