Do elderly edentulous patients with a history of periodontitis harbor periodontal pathogens?

OBJECTIVES: The presence of periodontal pathogens in the oral cavity may impact implant survival. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Eikenella corrodens, and Parvimonas micra in a specific elderly population with a history of periodontitis who have never worn dentures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty dentate subjects (mean age 61.7 +/- 7.05 years) and 30 edentulous subjects (mean age 65.8 +/- 8.05 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. Microbiological samples of cheek mucosa and the dorsum of the tongue were taken from all subjects. In addition, sulcus samples were taken from the dentate group. All samples were analysed using a bacterial DNA-specific polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: All the pathogens studied were detected in dentate and edentulous subjects. When cheek and tongue samples were combined, C. rectus, A. actinomycetemcomitans and E. corrodens presented with a similar prevalence in both groups, whereas the other species were more prevalent specifically in the dentate group (P<0.05). In dentate subjects, P. intermedia and T. denticola were present in higher frequencies in the cheek mucosa (26.67% and 66.67%, respectively), whereas P. gingivalis and T. forsythia were more prevalent in the tongue samples (26.67% and 56.67%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal pathogens may persist in the oral cavity of edentulous subjects who have had periodontal disease, even 1 year after the extraction of all teeth and in the absence of other hard surfaces in the mouth.

Do elderly edentulous patients with a history of periodontitis harbor periodontal pathogens?

OBJECTIVES: The presence of periodontal pathogens in the oral cavity may impact implant survival. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Eikenella corrodens and Parvimonas micra in a specific elderly population with a history of periodontitis who have never worn dentures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty dentate subjects (mean age 61.7+/-7.05 years) and 30 edentulous subjects (mean age 65.8+/-8.05 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. Microbiological samples of cheek mucosa and the dorsum of the tongue were taken from all subjects. In addition, sulcus samples were taken from the dentate group. All samples were analysed using a bacterial DNA-specific polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: All the pathogens studied were detected in dentate and edentulous subjects. When cheek and tongue samples were combined, C. rectus, A. actinomycetemcomitans and E. corrodens presented with a similar prevalence in both groups, whereas the other species were more prevalent specifically in the dentate group (P<0.05). In dentate subjects, P. intermedia and T. denticola were present in higher frequencies in the cheek mucosa (26.67% and 66.67%, respectively), whereas P. gingivalis and T. forsythia were more prevalent in the tongue samples (26.67% and 56.67%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal pathogens may persist in the oral cavity of edentulous subjects who have had periodontal disease, even 1 year after the extraction of all teeth and in the absence of other hard surfaces in the mouth.

Etiological analysis of initial colonization of periodontal pathogens in oral cavity.

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.

Detection of periodontal pathogens in oral mucous membranes of edentulous individuals.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the colonization of Campylobacter rectus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans), Prevotella intermedia, and Tannerella forsythia (previously T. forsythensis) in the tongue and cheek of newborns and elderly individuals with no teeth. METHODS: Seventy-four edentulous subjects were included in this cross-sectional study. Microbiologic samples were taken from the dorsum of the tongue and cheek mucosa of all individuals and analyzed using a bacterial DNA-specific polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: C. rectus was the most prevalent species in both groups (20.9% in the cheek of newborns, and 77.4% in the tongue of elderly subjects). P. gingivalis and P. intermedia were not detected in any of the 43 newborns; however, P. gingivalis was recovered from the tongue and cheek (3.2%) of elderly individuals, whereas P. intermedia was detected in the tongue (9.6%) and cheek (3.2%) of elderly individuals. T. forsythia was detected in newborns as well as elderly individuals, although the highest prevalence was observed in the tongue of newborns (6.9%) and elderly (9.6%) individuals. A. actinomycetemcomitans was not found in the tongue of newborns, but we observed A. actinomycetemcomitans in the cheek (2.3%) of newborns and in the tongue (12.9%) and cheek (6.4%) of elderly patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although we did not detect P. gingivalis and P. intermedia in newborns, periodontal pathogens could be detected from the oral mucous membranes of edentulous individuals. Our results suggest that major attention should be paid to edentulous individuals as an important measure in the prevention of the initial colonization of natural teeth and dental implants by periodontal pathogens.

Concurrence between the maxillary midline and bisector to the interpupillary line.

PURPOSE: Symmetry is one of the factors that contributes to facial harmony, and in oral rehabilitation it determines the success of esthetic treatment. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the axial symmetry between the bipupillar midline and maxillary central incisors midline of 102 dental students (both genders) distributed across five Brazilian dental schools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Students with no teeth missing and who had never been subjected to any dental treatment were selected. Photographs were taken with a Dental Eye III camera with a 100-mm macro objective and ratio of 1:10 from natural size, recorded on an Ektachrome ASA/ISO 100 film. The images were developed and applied to Microsoft Office Power Point 2007 software. The results were analyzed by analysis of variance and Student's t-test (alpha = 0.05). RESULTS: There was no significant correlation between bipupillar midline and the maxillary dental midline, irrespective of gender. CONCLUSION: No significant coincidence was observed between the interpupillary and dental midline. However, the interpupillar distance and its relationship with other anatomic structures may be used as a reference in treatment, but measurements must be assessed individually. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Anatomic measurements and facial proportions can be helpful during the planning of esthetic oral rehabilitation.

Prevalência de microrganismos periodontais intra e extra sulcular em crianças, adolescentes e adultos jovens / Prevalence of periodontal pathogens in gingival sulcus and oral mucosa in children, adolescents and young adults

A instalação e progressão da doença periodontal estão associadas à presença de fatores de risco destacando-se entre elesdeterminadas espécies bacterianas. A proposta do presente estudo, do tipo transversal, foi avaliar por reação em cadeiada polimerase a prevalência de A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, T. forsythensis e C. rectus nosulco gengival, na mucosa do dorso da língua e da bochecha em crianças, adolescentes e adultos jovens entre 2 ½ até18 anos de idade. Foram realizadas associações dos periodontopatógenos com idade, sexo e condição periodontal. Acondição periodontal foi estabelecida pelos índices de placa (IP), gengival (IG), profundidade de sondagem e nível deinserção clínica. Para análise dos dados foram utilizados os testes Qui-Quadrado e Exato de Fischer para a distribuiçãodas variáveis qualitativas, t-Student para a variável IP; Mann-Whitney para a variável IG. Os resultados mostraram queas bactérias de maior e menor prevalência foram respectivamente C. rectus (94%) e P. gingivalis (2%), sendo esta últimasomente encontrada em sulco gengival de adolescentes e adultos jovens. A faixa etária de menor idade apresentou as maisbaixas prevalências bacterianas. O sexo não interferiu na prevalência microbiana da população estudada. Observou-seuma pior condição clínica quando parâmetros periodontais estiveram associados a T. forsythensis e P. intermedia. Assim,concluímos que C. rectus foi a bactéria mais prevalente sendo o sítio intra-sulcular o mais favorável para a colonizaçãobacteriana e, a pior condição clínica periodontal associou-se a T. forsythensis e P. intermedia.