The purpose of this study was to characterize the supragingival plaque microbiome in children with early childhood caries and identify potential microorganisms associated with caries.

Sixty children with and without early childhood caries were recruited from Trakya University Faculty of Dentistry Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Oral examinations were performed by the same examiner according to diagnostic criteria of World Health Organisation (WHO) and The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) . Mothers' completed a structured questionnaire on the socio-demographic informations, child's feeding practices and oral hygiene habits. After the oral examination, supragingival plaque samples were collected from the posterior tooth surfaces. Supragingival plaque samples were examined with the Illumina MiSeq new generation sequencing method.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 36-71 months old children
• No history of any medical problem
• No history of antibiotic in the three months prior to sampling
• Any sign of early childhood caries,
• Caries free children
• Mothers accepted to complete a structured questionnaire
• Children who cooperate for dental examination and sample collection

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children older than 71 months
• Medically compromised
• Children with antibiotic use history at last three months
• Children refused dental examination and plaque collection
• Mothers' refused to complete questionnare

A total of sixty children with early childhood caries(n=30) and caries free(n=30)