Etiological Analysis of Initial Colonization of Periodontal Pathogens in Oral Cavity

• Published in: Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2008-04, Vol.46 (4), p.1322-1329
• Main Authors: Cortelli, Jose Roberto, Aquino, Davi Romeiro, Cortelli, Sheila Cavalca, Fernandes, Camila Borges, de Carvalho-Filho, Jonas, Franco, Gilson César Nobre, Costa, Fernando Oliveira, Kawai, Toshihisa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Bacteriology; Bacteroides forsythus; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil - epidemiology; Campylobacter - isolation & purification; Campylobacter rectus; Child; Child, Preschool; Dental Plaque - microbiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gingiva - microbiology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Microbiology; Middle Aged; Mouth - microbiology; Mouth Mucosa - microbiology; Periodontal Diseases - epidemiology; Periodontal Diseases - microbiology; Porphyromonas gingivalis; Porphyromonas gingivalis - isolation & purification; Prevalence; Prevotella intermedia; Prevotella intermedia - isolation & purification; Tongue - microbiology
• ISSN: 0095-1137; 1098-660X; 1098-5530
• DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02051-07

It is unclear when the initial colonization by periodontal pathogens occurs in the oral cavity. Therefore, we report here the association between specific age groups and the time when the initial colonization by periodontal pathogens occurs in the oral cavity in such groups. Findings are based on an epidemiological analysis of the prevalence of five periodontal pathogens in the oral cavities of a wide range of age populations, from newborn to elderly, who were randomly selected in a geographic region of Brazil. These periodontal pathogens include Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia, and Tannerella forsythia and were analyzed in the bacterial samples isolated from gingival sulcus, the dorsum of the tongue, and cheek mucosa of diverse age groups, using a bacterial DNA-specific PCR method. Results indicated that there are distinct age-related groups where initial colonization by the five periodontal pathogens examined in this study can be detected and that the presence of teeth is a permissive factor for colonization by P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, and T. forsythia. Although it remains unclear exactly how or when target pathogens colonize healthy subjects, an understanding of age-related groups does provide a potentially useful tool in the early detection and prevention of periodontitis in healthy individuals.