Periodontopathogens in elderly Chinese with different periodontal disease experience
The purpose of the present study was to study the subgingival microflora in elderly Chinese that are characterized as periodontally "best" relative to age-matched persons with advanced destructive periodontal disease ("worst" group), with particular emphasis on the occurrence of some selected suspected periodontopathogens. Thirty patients (15 for each group) were selected in 1990 from the group of 587 persons examined in 1984 for attachment levels, pocket depth, oral hygiene, and gingival inflammation. Following microbiological sampling all 30 persons were reexamined using the same parameters. Subgingival microbial samples were examined for the presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia group, Prevotella melaninogenica group, Capnocytophaga, Selenomonas, and Campylobacter rectus, as well as Streptococcus end Actinomyces species.
During the six years prior to microbiological sampling persons in the "best" group had lost an average 1.21-0.48 mm attachment, while persons in the "worst" group had lost an average of 1.60-0.94 mm. The latter group had lost 53.3 teeth, predominantly for periodontal reasons, in contrast to 1.8 teeth lost in the "best" group. "Best" persons did not differ from the "worst" persons in respect to the occurrence of the putative periopathogens total viable count, and total streptococcal and Actinomyces recovery. Similarly, sites which had experienced an attachment loss less than or equal to 2 mm during the six-year period did not differ microbiologically from sites with less attachment loss. [E.L.H.]
Dahlen, G.G., W.M. Luan,V. Baelum, O. Fejerskov, and X. Chen, J Clin Periodont, 22:188, 1995