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. 2026 Sep 4;7:1956432. doi: 10.3389/froh.2026.1956432

Figure 2.

Conceptual diagram illustrating how host biology and ecological exposures interact across critical developmental windows to shape the infant oral ecosystem. Host biological factors include genetics, enamel, immunity, and saliva, while ecological exposures include the maternal ecosystem, early-life feeding, meal architecture, water exposure, oral hygiene, and shared environment. Prenatal life, birth, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding form successive developmental windows within a One Health and DOHaD framework. These interacting influences shape oral ecosystem development and the balance between resilience and dysbiosis, leading toward a healthy oral ecosystem or early childhood caries.

Developmental ecology of the infant oral ecosystem: a conceptual framework. The framework illustrates how host biological factors and ecological exposures interact across critical developmental windows to shape oral ecosystem development within the One Health and DOHaD paradigms. The prenatal window reflects the influence of the maternal-fetal developmental microenvironment on subsequent oral ecosystem trajectories. The balance between ecological resilience and dysbiosis ultimately determines whether the developing oral ecosystem follows a trajectory toward health or Early Childhood Caries (ECC).