Herpesviral Infection in Periapical Periodontitis

• Published in: Current oral health reports Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 255 - 263
• Main Authors: Jakovljevic, Aleksandar, Andric, Miroslav, Knezevic, Aleksandra, Miletic, Maja, Beljic-Ivanovic, Katarina, Milasin, Jelena, Sabeti, Mohammad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Cytomegalovirus; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Epidemiology (M Laine; Epstein-Barr virus; Exocrine glands; Fibroblasts; Gum disease; Herpes viruses; Hypotheses; Infections; Lymphocytes; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Pathogenesis; Pathogens; Section Editor; Topical Collection on Epidemiology; Viral infections; Bone resorption; Epstein-Barr virus; Apical periodontitis; Herpesviruses; Human cytomegalovirus
• ISSN: 2196-3002; 2196-3002
• DOI: 10.1007/s40496-018-0198-7

Purpose of Review This review describes the most recent findings on herpesviral infections and offers current concepts of herpesviral role in the pathogenesis of periapical periodontitis. Recent Findings Thirty articles reported data on herpesviral infection in periapical periodontitis. Epstein-Barr virus and human cytomegalovirus are the most frequently detected herpesviruses in periapical samples. The main hypothesis postulates a bidirectional herpesviral-bacterial relationship in the etiopathogenesis of periapical periodontitis. A high heterogeneity of herpesviruses incidence was registered within the studies, in part, due to various methodological approaches used in laboratory testing, different inclusion criteria, study design, seroprevalence of herpesviruses, and sociodemographic characteristics of investigated populations. Summary Herpesviruses have been shown to potentially impair local host defense in periapical tissue. Although it has been demonstrated that endodontic pathogenic bacteria are able to reactivate herpesviruses, further, in vitro studies should provide more data on herpesviruses as a factor in the pathogenesis of the periapical pathoses. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate potential benefits of antiviral therapy in well-designed controlled longitudinal studies.