Research progress on factors affecting the establishment and development of oral microbiota in early life

The oral microbiota has been proven to play an essential role in local and systemic health. Hence, it is essential to understand how the oral microbiota and further microbial ecosystems are established and the associated development process to understand the physiologic and pathologic events related to the oral microbiota and management of the whole lifecycle oral and systemic health. The present review summarizes recent studies of the establishment and development of oral microbial communities in early life with related factors and briefly describes their prospects. By investigating the characteristics and development of the oral microbiota, current studies have shown that health status during pregnancy, mode of delivery, diet, environment, antibiotics and genetic factors are related to oral microbiota development, which is helpful in clinical practice. Nevertheless, current studies are mostly cross-sectional. Prospective cohort studies with larger sample sizes using metagenomics or metatranscriptomics and studies on molecular mechanisms are needed to further elucidate the influences and mechanisms of the related factors on the establishment and development of microbiota in early life and their impact on local or systemic health.