Subgingival microbiota of Brazilian subjects with untreated chronic periodontitis

• Published in: Journal of periodontology (1970) Vol. 73; no. 4; p. 360
• Main Authors: Colombo, Ana Paula V, Teles, Ricardo P, Torres, Maria Cynésia, Souto, Renata, Rosalém, Wilson Júnior, Mendes, Maria Cláudia S, Uzeda, Milton
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.04.2002
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Bacteria - classification; Bacteroides - growth & development; Bartonella - growth & development; Brazil; Chronic Disease; Dental Plaque - microbiology; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Enterococcus faecalis - growth & development; Escherichia coli - growth & development; Eubacterium - growth & development; Female; Fusobacterium nucleatum - growth & development; Gingiva - microbiology; Gingival Hemorrhage - microbiology; Humans; Male; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Periodontal Attachment Loss - microbiology; Periodontal Pocket - microbiology; Periodontitis - microbiology; Porphyromonas gingivalis - growth & development; Statistics as Topic; Statistics, Nonparametric; Brazil
• ISSN: 0022-3492
• DOI: 10.1902/jop.2002.73.4.360

Different periodontopathogenic microbiota have been associated with periodontal diseases in several populations. The present investigation determined the subgingival microbiota of untreated chronic periodontitis Brazilians using the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization technique. Twenty-five periodontitis patients (mean age, 41 +/- 2; mean probing depth [PD], 3.3 +/- 0.2; mean attachment level [AL], 3.6 +/- 0.2) with no history of previous periodontal therapy and a control group of 14 healthy subjects (mean age, 34 +/- 0.6; mean PD, 1.8 +/- 0.2; mean AL, 1.7 +/- 0.1) were selected. Measurements of PD, AL, bleeding on probing, plaque accumulation, and suppuration were recorded at 6 sites/tooth. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained from 4 sites in each tooth/subject in both groups. The presence and levels of 41 subgingival species were determined in 4,032 plaque samples using whole genomic DNA probes and the checkerboard method. Periodontal pathogens, as well as some unusual species (E. faecalis, E. coli and Bartonella sp.), were detected significantly more often and/or in higher levels in the periodontitis group (P < 0.05). Most species were more frequently detected in interproximal sites. B. forsythus, P. gingivalis, E. nodatum, and F. nucleatum ss vincentii showed a significant positive correlation with mean PD and AL (P < 0.05). The subgingival microbiota of Brazilians with untreated chronic periodontitis were complex, including high proportions of periodontopathogens commonly found in other populations, as well as some unusual species.